Distillate Capital Partners LLC Takes Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Distillate Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 253,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,431,000. Procter & Gamble makes up 2.1% of Distillate Capital Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,524,976,000 after buying an additional 1,592,061 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,472,195 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,457,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,419 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,244,463,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,197,996 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,386,194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,692,813 shares of the company's stock worth $3,133,850,000 after purchasing an additional 312,203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock traded down $0.82 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $167.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,333,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,040,791. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $153.52 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.56. The company has a market capitalization of $393.11 billion, a PE ratio of 26.70, a P/E/G 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.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is 67.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business'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 transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

About Procter & Gamble

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.