Vise Technologies Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Vise Technologies Inc. grew its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 84.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,636 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,117 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.'s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $4,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 321.7% in the 4th 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. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, 10Elms LLP acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PG shares. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price objective on Procter & Gamble and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Redburn Partners set a $161.00 price target on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.52.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of PG traded up $1.87 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $167.73. The company had a trading volume of 7,621,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,291,494. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $156.58 and a 52-week high of $180.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $164.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $393.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were given a $1.0568 dividend. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $1,669,208.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,182 shares in the company, valued at $3,995,627.94. This trade represents a 29.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value of $161,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,520 shares of company stock valued at $7,909,388 over the last three months. Corporate 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.