Emfo LLC Raises Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Emfo LLC lifted its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,534 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 350 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble makes up about 1.4% of Emfo LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Emfo LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PG. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 96,526.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,535,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,840,449,000 after buying an additional 38,495,676 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth about $3,752,321,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,320,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,717,246,000 after purchasing an additional 4,959,527 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 118.1% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,334,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $961,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,429,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 106.2% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,134,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $898,943,000 after purchasing an additional 3,159,796 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Procter & Gamble stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $155.45. The stock had a trading volume of 5,753,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,864,547. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $159.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.63. The company has a market capitalization of $365.78 billion, a PE ratio of 26.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.44. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $163.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $768,256.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 279,063 shares of company stock valued at $43,187,745 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.