Abacus Planning Group Inc. Buys 67 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,759 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $981,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PG. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,244,463,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 20,758.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,951,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,355,087,000 after acquiring an additional 7,913,335 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,010,685,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,398,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,240,294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,846,560 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $1,669,208.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 25,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,995,627.94. This trade represents a 29.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value of $161,380.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at $8,386,111.70. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $164.01 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $164.01 and its 200 day moving average is $167.21. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $156.58 and a one year high of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $384.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.42 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price target (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Redburn Partners set a $161.00 target price on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $164.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.86.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric and Home Care, and Baby, Feminine and Family Care. The Beauty segment offers hair, skin, and personal care. The Grooming segment consists of shave care like female and male blades and razors, pre and post shave products, and appliances.