Metis Global Partners LLC Buys 15,599 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 15.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,039 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,599 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for 0.7% of Metis Global Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Metis Global Partners LLC's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $16,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wyrmwood Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 636.6% during the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $168.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $169.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total value of $5,049,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,586,483.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total value of $5,049,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,586,483.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $3,549,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,943,835.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 86,865 shares of company stock worth $14,059,180. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock traded up $0.62 on Friday, hitting $164.46. The stock had a trading volume of 5,581,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,941,715. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $141.45 and a twelve month high of $164.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $388.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $160.01 and a 200 day moving average of $154.25.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. Procter & Gamble's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Procter & Gamble Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.