Bailard Inc. Grows Stock Position in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG)

Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 147,922 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,301 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $25,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 40,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,717,000 after buying an additional 13,617 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 493.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 341,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,294,000 after buying an additional 284,174 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 50.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,737,000 after purchasing an additional 3,472 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 402,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,437,000 after purchasing an additional 87,671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 21,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,623,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price objective on Procter & Gamble and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Redburn Partners set a $161.00 price objective on Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total transaction of $161,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the 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 sale, the insider directly owned 25,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,995,627.94. The trade was a 29.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:PG opened at $153.68 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.61. The stock has a market cap of $360.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.40. Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $151.90 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.42 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.67% and a net margin of 18.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.14%.

About Procter & Gamble

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.