Willis Investment Counsel Grows Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Willis Investment Counsel grew its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 77.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 157,290 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 68,750 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble makes up 1.8% of Willis Investment Counsel's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Willis Investment Counsel's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $26,805,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $5,244,463,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 20,758.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,951,456 shares of the company's stock worth $1,355,087,000 after purchasing an additional 7,913,335 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $1,010,685,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its position in 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. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 62.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,846,560 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value of $161,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 51,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,995,627.94. The trade was a 29.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 target price (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Redburn Partners set a $161.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $161.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.86.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock traded down $3.12 on Friday, reaching $160.06. 7,093,816 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,367,457. The company has a market capitalization of $375.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $163.70 and a 200 day moving average of $166.95. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $156.58 and a one year 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 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 business had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st were paid 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 2.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.