SFE Investment Counsel Acquires New Shares in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG)

SFE Investment Counsel bought a new position in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $403,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. 10Elms LLP bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 566.7% in the first quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 that occurred 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. This trade represents a 29.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (down from $178.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.12.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

NYSE:PG traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $158.28. 5,799,883 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,070,670. The business's 50-day moving average price is $161.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $164.24. The company has a market cap of $371.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $151.90 and a 12-month high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.46% and a return on equity of 32.67%. The firm had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $1.0568 dividend. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

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.