Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) Shares Bought by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) by 8.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 317,814 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,194 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $54,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,524,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,061 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,472,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,457,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267,419 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth about $5,244,463,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,395,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,928,107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,703,757 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,197,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,386,194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209,275 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

NYSE:PG opened at $159.03 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $162.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.83. Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $156.58 and a 12 month high of $180.43. The firm has a market cap of $372.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.67% and a net margin of 18.46%. The firm had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were given a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 67.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PG shares. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Redburn Partners set a $161.00 price objective on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $161.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $1,669,208.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,182 shares in the company, valued at $3,995,627.94. This trade represents a 29.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.