3,262 Shares in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) Purchased by Lecap Asset Management Ltd.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $556,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

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

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $158.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $372.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.19, a PEG ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.43. Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $156.58 and a 52-week high of $180.43. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $162.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.42 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.67% and a net margin of 18.46%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were given a $1.0568 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PG shares. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Redburn Partners set a $161.00 price objective on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price objective on Procter & Gamble and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.45.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.

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