Probity Advisors Inc. Acquires 182 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Probity Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,137 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the quarter. Probity Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $861,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,244,463,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $1,010,685,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,596,000 after buying an additional 2,973,757 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,398,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,240,294,000 after buying an additional 2,846,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,395,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,928,107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,703,757 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value 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 $8,386,111.70. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $1,669,208.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 25,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,995,627.94. This represents a 29.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,520 shares of company stock valued at $7,909,388. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.52.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG stock opened at $165.95 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $164.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $156.58 and a 52-week high of $180.43. The stock has a market cap of $389.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.43, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

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.