The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Purchased by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 253.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,098,946 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 787,926 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $190,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,632,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,567,556,000 after buying an additional 122,190 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 8.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,691,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,598,510,000 after purchasing an additional 733,440 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 7,005,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,213,403,000 after purchasing an additional 39,000 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,008,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $974,914,000 after purchasing an additional 79,665 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 5,716,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $990,150,000 after purchasing an additional 72,851 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:PG opened at $176.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.75. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $142.50 and a 1 year high of $177.94. The stock has a market cap of $415.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.62.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total transaction of $2,163,072.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,566 shares in the company, valued at $1,954,538.34. This represents a 52.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total transaction of $108,826.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,319,882.65. This trade represents a 3.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 160,693 shares of company stock valued at $27,311,345. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. DZ Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.00.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.