Pensionfund Sabic Acquires New Holdings in Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG

Key Points

• Pensionfund Sabic established a new position in Procter & Gamble, buying 22,400 shares in Q4 worth about $3.21 million, representing roughly 0.9% of its portfolio and the firm's 29th-largest holding.
• Other major institutional moves included Norges Bank initiating a position (~$5.10 billion) and sizable increases from Invesco, Assenagon and Amundi, leaving institutions owning 65.77% of PG stock.
• Procter & Gamble slightly beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.88 vs. $1.86), pays a quarterly dividend of $1.0568 (annualized yield ~3.0%), while insiders have been net sellers (~348,618 shares worth ~$55.5M over the past three months).

Pensionfund Sabic bought a new position in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 22,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,210,000. Procter & Gamble comprises about 0.9% of Pensionfund Sabic's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth approximately $5,099,644,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 15,971.7% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,012,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,117,270,000 after acquiring an additional 6,969,110 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,374,499 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,608,785,000 after acquiring an additional 2,880,895 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 100.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,460,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $782,607,000 after acquiring an additional 2,741,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 10,682,455 shares of the company's stock worth $1,606,748,000 after acquiring an additional 2,222,560 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.6%

PG opened at $143.06 on Wednesday. Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $137.62 and a one year high of $174.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock's fifty day moving average is $154.06 and its 200-day moving average is $150.41. The company has a market capitalization of $332.46 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.37.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.36 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.21% and a net margin of 19.30%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PG shares. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $156.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $177.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $168.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 95,903 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.15, for a total transaction of $14,495,738.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 182,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,601,048.05. This trade represents a 34.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 36,093 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.33, for a total transaction of $5,858,976.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 34,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,680,576.02. This trade represents a 50.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 348,618 shares of company stock worth $55,462,643. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble NYSE: PG is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world's largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G's product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.

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