The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Bought by Artemis Investment Management LLP

Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 12.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,476 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,345 shares during the quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $9,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PG shares. Argus increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.72.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $5,329,711.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,179,061.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total transaction of $5,329,711.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,586,483.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 154,544 shares of company stock valued at $25,413,051 over the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock traded down $1.69 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $164.93. The company had a trading volume of 9,253,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,596,827. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.54. The stock has a market cap of $389.26 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $141.45 and a 1-year high of $169.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.