Viking Fund Management LLC Purchases 10,000 Shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG

Viking Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) by 55.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,000 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $4,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Emprise Bank raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Emprise Bank now owns 2,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Affiance Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.5% during the third quarter. Affiance Financial LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 12.9% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 621 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Dominguez Wealth Management Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.3% in the third quarter. Dominguez Wealth Management Solutions Inc. now owns 20,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,144,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp now owns 28,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,029,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 36,093 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.33, for a total value of $5,858,976.69. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 34,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,680,576.02. The trade was a 50.77% 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 Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,827 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total value of $2,056,296.37. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 12,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,026,158.09. This trade represents a 50.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 348,618 shares of company stock worth $55,462,643 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $165.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $177.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $156.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.33.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG stock opened at $143.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $332.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $154.06 and its 200 day moving average is $150.41. Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $137.62 and a 52 week high of $174.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. 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 19.30% and a return on equity of 32.21%. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.67%.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world’s largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G’s product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.