Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 52,725 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 908,312 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,725 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble makes up 0.6% of Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $152,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 972.0% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% in the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on PG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG opened at $166.46 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $390.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $166.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.44. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $153.52 and a 52 week high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.17%.

Procter & Gamble 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.