Westpac Banking Corp Purchases 45,734 Shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG)

Westpac Banking Corp boosted its position in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) by 174.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 71,975 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,734 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble comprises 0.9% of Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $12,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Unique Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.9% during the first quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 2,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the first quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC now owns 5,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $993,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 20.2% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% during the first quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management now owns 2,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $962,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PG. UBS Group set a $180.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $177.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $161.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their target price 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.88.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $155.03 on Tuesday. Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $149.91 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $363.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.81, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.06. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.95% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The business had revenue of $20.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.98%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.