Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 1,555,504 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 140.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,663,246 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,555,504 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises approximately 0.8% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.11% of Procter & Gamble worth $453,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 40,068 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,717,000 after purchasing an additional 13,617 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,049,000. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 276.9% in the 4th quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,970 shares of the company's stock worth $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 4,386 shares during the period. Panoramic Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $316,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 90.8% in the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company's stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG stock traded down $3.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $160.06. 7,093,816 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,381,974. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.82. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $156.58 and a 1-year high of $180.43. The company has a market cap of $375.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a $1.0568 dividend. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Redburn Partners set a $161.00 price objective on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value of $161,380.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $1,669,208.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 25,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,995,627.94. This represents a 29.47% 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.

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.