Highland Capital Management LLC Buys 9,185 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,622 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,185 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for 1.1% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $20,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PG. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth $33,000. Costello Asset Management INC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% during the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 58.0% in the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 138.7% in the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth about $70,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE:PG opened at $167.43 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $168.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.39. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $153.52 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $394.31 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 32.88%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on PG. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Hsbc Global Res raised Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,804.35. This trade represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.