First Manhattan CO. LLC. Grows Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 252,805 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,237 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $43,521,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 933.3% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 95.3% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Redburn Atlantic cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $161.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Erste Group Bank lowered Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.52.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $1,669,208.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 25,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,995,627.94. This represents a 29.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. This trade 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 valued at $10,999,268 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.4 %

PG stock opened at $158.63 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $166.23 and a 200 day moving average of $167.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $371.91 billion, a PE ratio of 25.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $156.58 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $1.0568 dividend. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

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.