China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Position in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 94.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,131 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,615 shares during the quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $5,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,244,463,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 20,758.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,951,456 shares of the company's stock worth $1,355,087,000 after buying an additional 7,913,335 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position 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 buying an additional 2,846,560 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,395,208 shares of the company's stock worth $4,928,107,000 after buying an additional 2,703,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 16,274,563 shares of the company's stock worth $2,728,430,000 after buying an additional 2,224,912 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PG. Redburn Partners set a $161.00 price target on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America cut their target price 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. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 target price (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble 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 transaction of $161,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:PG traded up $0.94 during trading on Thursday, hitting $158.46. The company had a trading volume of 7,182,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,577,079. The stock has a market cap of $371.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.40. Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $155.95 and a one year high of $180.43. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.67% and a net margin of 18.46%. The business had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.14%.

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.