Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Increases Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,681 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Demars Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. LWM Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, KFA Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.2% in the third quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PG shares. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Argus lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total value of $3,549,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,845 shares in the company, valued at $5,943,835.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,865 shares of company stock valued at $9,009,280. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE PG traded up $1.58 on Tuesday, hitting $163.24. The stock had a trading volume of 8,105,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,942,727. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $164.32. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $159.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $385.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share 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 paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.85%.

About Procter & Gamble

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.