Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) Shares Purchased by Covington Investment Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Covington Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.4% in Q1, acquiring an additional 2,700 shares, bringing their total to 39,229 shares valued at $6,685,000.
• Procter & Gamble's most recent quarterly earnings showed a reported EPS of $1.48, beating estimates, with revenue of $20.89 billion, a 1.7% increase from the previous year.
• The company's dividend yield is currently at 2.8%, with a quarterly dividend of $1.0568 per share scheduled for payment on August 15th.

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,229 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $6,685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.2% during the 4th 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 last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 13.8% in the first quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 37,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,426,000 after acquiring an additional 4,562 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 6.0% during the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 50,913 shares of the company's stock worth $8,677,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 7,353,715 shares of the company's stock worth $1,232,850,000 after acquiring an additional 104,168 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock traded up $1.52 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $155.03. 7,327,441 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,956,396. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $158.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $363.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.81, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.37. Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $149.91 and a one year high of $180.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.06. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 18.95%. The business had revenue of $20.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $1.0568 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Procter & Gamble from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $164.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Redburn Partners set a $161.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective 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. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $161.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $175.88.

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.