MQS Management LLC Makes New Investment in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG)

MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,899 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,176,000. Procter & Gamble accounts for about 0.7% of MQS Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 13,617 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 493.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 341,750 shares of the company's stock worth $57,294,000 after purchasing an additional 284,174 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 50.4% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,737,000 after buying an additional 3,472 shares during the period. Hilton Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the company's stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Finally, Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 9,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,604,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank lowered Procter & Gamble from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock 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. Redburn Atlantic lowered Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $161.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an "in-line" rating and set a $170.00 target price (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $177.45.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG traded down $3.59 during trading on Monday, reaching $153.46. 4,020,976 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,594,468. Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $152.91 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The company has a market capitalization of $359.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.40. The business's 50 day moving average price is $161.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.88. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.67% and a net margin of 18.46%. The company had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $1.0568 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the company's 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 sale, the insider owned 25,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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.

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.