Elefante Mark B Purchases New Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Elefante Mark B acquired a new stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 21,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,673,000. Procter & Gamble accounts for about 3.4% of Elefante Mark B's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company's stock worth $38,524,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,061 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,472,195 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,457,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267,419 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth about $5,244,463,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,395,208 shares of the company's stock worth $4,928,107,000 after buying an additional 2,703,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,197,996 shares of the company's stock worth $3,386,194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209,275 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on PG. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $161.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. 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, Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.52.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG traded up $3.22 during trading on Monday, reaching $160.88. The stock had a trading volume of 7,377,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,202,378. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $156.30 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $377.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.54.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The business had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $1,669,208.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 25,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,995,627.94. The trade was a 29.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total transaction of $161,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at $8,386,111.70. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 64,520 shares of company stock valued at $10,999,268. 0.18% of the stock is 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.