Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1,721.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 337,261 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 318,748 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $49,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PG. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 636.6% during the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 206.6% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $3,549,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,845 shares in the company, valued at $5,943,835.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,265.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,865 shares of company stock worth $9,009,280 over the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock traded up $0.54 on Tuesday, reaching $162.20. 1,450,391 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,860,303. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $141.45 and a 1-year high of $164.32. The company has a market cap of $382.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $159.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.78.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. This is an increase 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 65.85%.

About Procter & Gamble

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.