ProShare Advisors LLC Acquires 138,863 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,597,983 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 138,863 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for approximately 0.6% of ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.07% of Procter & Gamble worth $267,902,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,807 shares of the company's stock valued at $806,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 27,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,642,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 236,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,833,000 after buying an additional 2,179 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,374,000 after buying an additional 1,818 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 123,853 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,764,000 after buying an additional 2,568 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PG shares. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.52.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG traded up $0.87 during trading on Friday, reaching $163.28. The company had a trading volume of 7,100,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,236,385. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm's fifty day moving average is $164.50 and its 200 day moving average is $167.30. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $156.58 and a twelve month high of $180.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $382.82 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The business 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 firm earned $1.52 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a $1.0568 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the business'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 transaction of $1,669,208.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 25,182 shares in the company, valued at $3,995,627.94. The trade was a 29.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total transaction of $161,380.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at $8,386,111.70. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 64,520 shares of company stock worth $10,999,268 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.