S Bank Fund Management Ltd Makes New $4.43 Million Investment in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG)

Key Points

• S Bank Fund Management Ltd purchased 25,983 shares of Procter & Gamble, valued at approximately $4.43 million, as part of their new position during the first quarter.
• Procter & Gamble reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.48 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations of $1.42, while also achieving a year-over-year revenue increase of 1.7%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.0568 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.7%, set to be paid to shareholders of record on July 18.

S Bank Fund Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 25,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,428,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,954,941,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 20,758.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,951,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,355,087,000 after purchasing an additional 7,913,335 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,398,120 shares of the company's stock worth $1,240,294,000 after acquiring an additional 2,846,560 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,395,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,928,107,000 after buying an additional 2,703,757 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 19.8% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,493,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,299,580,000 after buying an additional 2,228,151 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group set a $180.00 price objective on Procter & Gamble and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Procter & Gamble from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $177.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $173.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $170.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $175.88.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:PG traded down $1.58 on Thursday, hitting $153.83. 6,342,893 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,504,851. Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $149.91 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.37. The company has a market cap of $360.32 billion, a PE ratio of 23.63, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.37.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.06. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 18.95%. The firm had revenue of $20.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $1.0568 dividend. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.98%.

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.