Optas LLC Purchases 80 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Optas LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG – Free Report) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,791 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 46,754,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,936,343,000 after acquiring an additional 510,559 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,320,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,717,246,000 after acquiring an additional 4,959,527 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 96,526.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,535,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,840,449,000 after purchasing an additional 38,495,676 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 9.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,193,916,000 after purchasing an additional 3,047,557 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,313,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,275,616,000 after purchasing an additional 670,862 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.35.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on PG

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG opened at $156.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $159.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $152.48. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $141.45 and a twelve month high of $163.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $368.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.25, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $21.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.48 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 34.04% and a net margin of 17.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 62.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at $1,908,891.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $15,618,683.28. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 163,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,097,637.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 279,063 shares of company stock worth $43,187,745 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

(Free Report)

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It 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, and SK-II brands.

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