Scotia Capital Inc. Purchases 59,344 Shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG)

Key Points

• Scotia Capital Inc. increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 12.7% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 59,344 shares, bringing its total holdings to 527,757 shares valued at approximately $89.9 million.
• Procter & Gamble recently reported earnings of $1.48 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.0568 per share, yielding 2.8% annually.
• Several analysts have downgraded their price targets for Procter & Gamble, with an average price target now set at $175.88 as the stock has faced fluctuations between a 12-month low of $149.91 and a high of $180.43.

Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 527,757 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 59,344 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $89,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,807 shares of the company's stock worth $806,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 27,690 shares of the company's stock worth $4,642,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 13.8% in the first quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 37,709 shares of the company's stock worth $6,426,000 after acquiring an additional 4,562 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.0% in the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 50,913 shares of the company's stock worth $8,677,000 after acquiring an additional 2,886 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.4% in 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 and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PG shares. Redburn Atlantic lowered Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $161.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $173.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an "in-line" rating and issued a $170.00 price target (down from $190.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.88.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $150.65 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.02. Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $149.91 and a 12-month high of $180.43. The company has a market capitalization of $353.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.06. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.56% 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble's revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is 64.98%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,182 shares in the company, valued at $3,995,627.94. This represents a 29.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

About Procter & Gamble

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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