Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG Stock Purchased by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 143,169 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,483 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $20,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Montgomery Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Paladin Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Toews Corp ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $167.79 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $137.62 and a 12 month high of $170.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $388.91 billion, a PE ratio of 25.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.73.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $23.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.80 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.23% and a return on equity of 31.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.99 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 23rd will be issued a $1.0885 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. HSBC lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $182.00 to $149.00 in a report on Thursday, July 30th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $164.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Victor Aguilar sold 18,812 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.43, for a total value of $3,093,257.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 55,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,083,606.49. This represents a 25.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Paul Gama sold 2,894 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $477,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 43,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,243,335. The trade was a 6.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 197,756 shares of company stock valued at $32,336,001 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company is a consumer goods company that develops, manufactures and markets products for everyday use. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, the company is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its products span beauty, grooming, health care, fabric and home care, and baby, feminine and family care. Well-known brands include Tide, Pampers, Gillette, Pantene, Olay, Oral-B, Crest, Dawn, Charmin and Bounty. Procter & Gamble sells its products in markets around the world through retail stores, e-commerce platforms and other distribution channels.