National Bank of Canada FI Acquires 49,339 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,554,729 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 49,339 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.07% of Procter & Gamble worth $231,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,193,916,000 after buying an additional 3,047,557 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,313,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,275,616,000 after acquiring an additional 670,862 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,003,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,298,184,000 after purchasing an additional 131,339 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,170,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,629,299,000 after purchasing an additional 346,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,556,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,547,021,000 after purchasing an additional 559,358 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

PG traded up $0.62 on Friday, reaching $164.46. The stock had a trading volume of 5,581,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,941,715. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $160.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.17. 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 Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $141.45 and a 12-month high of $164.71. The company has a market cap of $388.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion during 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%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on PG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble 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 transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 86,865 shares of company stock valued at $14,059,180. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.