Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Has $7.58 Million Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 86.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,735 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,929 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for approximately 0.2% of Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $7,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PG. Wyrmwood Management LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 636.6% in the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth $50,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 206.6% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 455 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at $768,256.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $768,256.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total transaction of $11,412,111.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $149,160.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 279,063 shares of company stock worth $43,187,745 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Procter & Gamble stock traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $155.33. The company had a trading volume of 6,770,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,339,995. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $141.45 and a one year high of $163.14. The firm has a market cap of $365.49 billion, a PE ratio of 26.02, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $159.32 and a 200 day moving average of $152.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.14. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 34.04% and a net margin of 17.60%. The business had revenue of $21.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.48 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.53.

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.