New York Life Investment Management LLC Purchases 2,298 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 368,807 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,298 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $54,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Demars Financial Group LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KFA Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Procter & Gamble stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $163.40. 7,542,646 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,949,875. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $159.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.91. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $141.45 and a twelve month high of $164.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $385.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on PG shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total value of $5,049,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,586,483.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,265.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total value of $5,049,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,586,483.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 86,865 shares of company stock valued at $14,059,180. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Profile

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.