The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Bought by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,115,797 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,768 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises about 0.6% of Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $187,063,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,812,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Tevis Investment Management lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 11,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alhambra Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 5,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $970,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

PG stock opened at $168.85 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $168.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.46. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $153.52 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $395.92 billion, a PE ratio of 26.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 64.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Erste Group Bank raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric and Home Care, and Baby, Feminine and Family Care. The Beauty segment offers hair, skin, and personal care. The Grooming segment consists of shave care like female and male blades and razors, pre and post shave products, and appliances.