Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG Shares Acquired by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) by 22.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 152,733 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,580 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $23,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.8% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 594,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,409,000 after purchasing an additional 21,825 shares during the period. Westerkirk Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth approximately $4,796,000. Vega Investment Solutions raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vega Investment Solutions now owns 638,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,710,000 after purchasing an additional 8,500 shares during the period. Triodos Investment Management BV boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Triodos Investment Management BV now owns 255,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,195,000 after purchasing an additional 17,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at $7,891,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 1,809 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.46, for a total transaction of $288,463.14. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,818,083.90. The trade was a 5.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jon R. Moeller sold 162,232 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.45, for a total value of $26,354,588.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 319,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,884,093.25. This represents a 33.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 348,618 shares of company stock worth $55,462,643. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on PG shares. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $164.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $165.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.33.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE:PG opened at $150.57 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $137.62 and a twelve month high of $174.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $349.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.37.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.36 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.21% and a net margin of 19.30%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were paid a $1.0568 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.67%.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world’s largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G’s product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.