Swedbank AB Increases Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,447,064 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,155 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.06% of Procter & Gamble worth $238,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 20,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,030,000 after buying an additional 1,689 shares during the last quarter. Guerra Pan Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 175.9% during the 4th quarter. Guerra Pan Advisors LLC now owns 4,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $628,000 after purchasing an additional 2,733 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Research LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Main Street Research LLC now owns 333,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,887,000 after buying an additional 16,677 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 94,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,801,000 after buying an additional 27,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 1,081,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,454,000 after buying an additional 26,014 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE:PG traded down $0.03 on Friday, hitting $167.89. The stock had a trading volume of 5,574,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,674,588. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.13. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $171.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $396.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.46% and a net margin of 17.71%. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 65.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 72,174 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.01, for a total value of $12,342,475.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 263,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,002,649.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 72,174 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.01, for a total value of $12,342,475.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 263,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,002,649.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 3,373 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $573,410.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 21,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,657,210. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 116,313 shares of company stock worth $19,703,643. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.