AQR Capital Management LLC Has $226.65 Million Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

AQR Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,355,790 shares of the company's stock after selling 189,590 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Procter & Gamble worth $226,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 236,616 shares of the company's stock worth $38,833,000 after acquiring an additional 2,179 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the company's stock worth $9,374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,818 shares during the period. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $569,000. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 123,853 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,764,000 after buying an additional 2,568 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PG shares. Raymond James decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Procter & Gamble from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $177.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $179.80.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock traded down $2.58 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $159.99. 6,784,334 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,157,309. The stock has a market cap of $375.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.48, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $167.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.17. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $156.58 and a 12 month high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.42 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. Procter & Gamble's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value of $161,380.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,000 shares of company stock worth $9,330,060. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble 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.