Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) Shares Acquired by Westpac Banking Corp

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp increased its stake in Procter & Gamble Company by 174.3%, acquiring an additional 45,734 shares, which brought its total holdings to 71,975 shares valued at approximately $12.27 million.
• Procter & Gamble reported strong earnings of $1.48 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, along with revenues of $20.89 billion, indicating a yearly growth of 1.7%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.0568 per share, which reflects a 2.7% dividend yield, with a total annualized payout of approximately $4.23 per share.

Westpac Banking Corp increased its stake in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 174.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,975 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 45,734 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble makes up about 0.9% of Westpac Banking Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $12,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 566.7% in the 1st quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on PG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $175.88.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE PG traded down $1.58 on Thursday, reaching $153.83. The stock had a trading volume of 6,342,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,179,551. The firm has a market capitalization of $360.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $149.91 and a 12-month high of $180.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $157.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.48.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $20.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.79 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 18.95%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $1.0568 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is 64.82%.

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.