The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Purchased by Lincoln National Corp

Lincoln National Corp raised its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 257,882 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble comprises 0.7% of Lincoln National Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $37,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PG. Machina Capital S.A.S. increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 5,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $789,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 183,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,845,000 after buying an additional 1,850 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 356,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,273,000 after acquiring an additional 8,439 shares during the period. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 20,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,030,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at $768,256.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at $768,256.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at $1,908,891.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 118,724 shares of company stock valued at $19,312,729. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PG traded up $1.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $165.76. 6,432,610 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,896,865. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.37. 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 stock has a market cap of $391.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.01, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.43. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $141.45 and a 1 year high of $166.04.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

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.