The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Purchased by Zevin Asset Management LLC

Zevin Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,363 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the quarter. Zevin Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,503,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,432,000 after acquiring an additional 56,583 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,442,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,031,000 after purchasing an additional 608,168 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 13,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,315,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 5,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $3,829,817.68. The trade was a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG opened at $168.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $394.39 billion, a PE ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $153.52 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $167.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.80.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 64.01%.

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.