Baillie Gifford & Co. Buys 26,702 Shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG)

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.8%, acquiring an additional 26,702 shares, bringing its total ownership to 970,577 shares valued at approximately $165 million.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Jennifer L. Davis selling 1,000 shares for $161.38 each, reducing her holdings to 51,965 shares valued at about $8.39 million.
• Procter & Gamble's recent earnings report showed a net margin of 18.46%, with earnings per share of $1.54, slightly surpassing analyst estimates.

Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 970,577 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 26,702 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co.'s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $165,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PG. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 321.7% in the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. 10Elms LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of Procter & Gamble 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,386,111.70. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their position. 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 business's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI reiterated an "in-line" rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $176.24.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE:PG opened at $158.82 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $161.12 and a 200-day moving average of $164.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $372.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $151.90 and a twelve month high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.46% and a return on equity of 32.67%. The company had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. Procter & Gamble's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a $1.0568 dividend. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is currently 67.14%.

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.

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