Aspire Growth Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 2,726 The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Aspire Growth Partners LLC acquired a new position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $457,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 14.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,031,000 after purchasing an additional 608,168 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,290,573,000 after buying an additional 1,760,214 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 38,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,391,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 15,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,620,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE:PG opened at $160.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $376.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.57, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day moving average of $167.36 and a 200 day moving average of $167.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $156.58 and a 1-year high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $161.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $164.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.80.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total transaction of $161,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at $8,386,111.70. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,000 shares of company stock worth $9,330,060 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.