The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Acquired by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,741 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 808 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for 0.7% of Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $8,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $3,956,117,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,209,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,336,552,000 after buying an additional 206,165 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 559,358 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,571,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,402,636,000 after acquiring an additional 246,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 6,987,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,023,949,000 after acquiring an additional 223,798 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG traded up $1.18 on Monday, reaching $170.35. The company had a trading volume of 5,424,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,597,088. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $141.45 and a one year high of $171.89. The company has a market capitalization of $402.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.84, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $167.29 and a 200-day moving average of $163.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.69%.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.22, for a total value of $76,149.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,212,043.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.22, for a total value of $76,149.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,212,043.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 3,373 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were 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. Insiders sold a total of 237,293 shares of company stock worth $40,331,085 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on PG. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $179.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Dbs Bank cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.95.

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.