Ascent Group LLC Raises Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Ascent Group LLC increased its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,942 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,735 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises about 0.8% of Ascent Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $11,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,244,463,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,010,685,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company's stock worth $580,596,000 after buying an additional 2,973,757 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,398,120 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,240,294,000 after buying an additional 2,846,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,703,757 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total transaction of $161,380.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at $8,386,111.70. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the 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 now owns 25,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,995,627.94. This trade represents a 29.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,520 shares of company stock worth $7,909,388. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:PG traded up $1.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $168.53. 4,835,154 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,277,753. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $164.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $395.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.84, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $156.58 and a 12-month high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were given a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Redburn Partners set a $161.00 target price on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $161.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.52.

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.