Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) Shares Bought by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 36.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,358 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 26,153 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for about 0.6% of Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.'s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $16,592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company's stock worth $38,524,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,061 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,472,195 shares of the company's stock worth $9,457,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,419 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,244,463,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,395,208 shares of the company's stock worth $4,928,107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,703,757 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,197,996 shares of the company's stock worth $3,386,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209,275 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $161.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $177.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value of $161,380.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $1,669,208.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 25,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,995,627.94. This trade represents a 29.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE PG traded up $1.00 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $153.68. 8,027,837 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,638,468. Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $151.90 and a 12-month high of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $161.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $360.31 billion, a PE ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.14%.

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.