Avity Investment Management Inc. Purchases 165,076 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Avity Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 1,347.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 177,325 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 165,076 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for 2.4% of Avity Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Avity Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $30,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,807 shares of the company's stock valued at $806,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 27,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,642,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the period. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 236,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,833,000 after buying an additional 2,179 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,374,000 after buying an additional 1,818 shares during the period. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 123,853 shares of the company's stock worth $20,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,568 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the firm's 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 directly owns 51,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $1,669,208.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 25,182 shares in the company, valued at $3,995,627.94. The trade was a 29.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

PG traded down $1.47 on Monday, reaching $162.55. The company had a trading volume of 6,533,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,331,947. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $156.58 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The stock has a market cap of $381.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company's fifty day moving average is $164.01 and its 200 day moving average is $167.21. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 prior year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. Procter & Gamble's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $1.0568 per share. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on PG shares. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $161.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $164.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $161.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.86.

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.