The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Purchased by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd grew its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 50.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 272,497 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 91,009 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for approximately 1.6% of AIA Group Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $39,932,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PG. Emerald Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $856,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Watchman Group Inc. grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 18,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,633,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total value of $3,549,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,943,835.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 have sold 279,063 shares of company stock worth $43,187,745. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.6 %

Procter & Gamble stock traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $156.94. The stock had a trading volume of 4,411,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,817,153. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $369.28 billion, a PE ratio of 26.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.64. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $141.45 and a twelve month high of $163.14.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.14. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 34.04% and a net margin of 17.60%. The business had revenue of $21.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.59 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. 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 (DPR) is currently 62.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on PG shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.53.

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.