Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG Shares Acquired by Avanza Fonder AB

Avanza Fonder AB increased its stake in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 269,939 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,339 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for 1.0% of Avanza Fonder AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $38,685,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Saranac Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Corundum Trust Company INC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, Chairman Jon R. Moeller sold 162,232 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.45, for a total transaction of $26,354,588.40. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 319,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,884,093.25. This represents a 33.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 36,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.33, for a total transaction of $5,858,976.69. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 34,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,680,576.02. This trade represents a 50.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 348,618 shares of company stock worth $55,462,643 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the subject of several research reports. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $164.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $156.00 to $179.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $177.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.33.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG stock opened at $143.06 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $154.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.41. The firm has a market cap of $332.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.72. Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $137.62 and a 1 year high of $174.80.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.21% and a net margin of 19.30%.The company had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd were paid a $1.0568 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 62.67%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world’s largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G’s product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.