Aviva PLC Raises Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Aviva PLC boosted its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG – Get Rating) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 853,395 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 64,666 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $25,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. AMI Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 18,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Ergoteles LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,073,000. Finally, Wsfs Capital Management LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Wsfs Capital Management LLC now owns 4,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. 62.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $146.33 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $344.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $151.32 and its 200 day moving average is $147.03. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $122.18 and a 52-week high of $158.11.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 21st. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $20.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.32 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.18% and a net margin of 17.69%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 5.86 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 21st were paid a $0.9407 dividend. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 20th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 709 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.34, for a total transaction of $97,374.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,400,593.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 709 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.34, for a total value of $97,374.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,400,593.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.03, for a total value of $4,836,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,562,484.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 99,424 shares of company stock worth $15,416,750. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PG shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.50.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & 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.