The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Purchased by Fayez Sarofim & Co

Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,907,842 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 474,432 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises approximately 2.0% of Fayez Sarofim & Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Fayez Sarofim & Co’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $825,517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,244,463,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $1,010,685,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,596,000 after acquiring an additional 2,973,757 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,398,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,240,294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,846,560 shares during the period. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1,709.5% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 2,006,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,825,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895,421 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. The trade was a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $170.59 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $168.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $156.69 and a 12-month high of $180.43. The company has a market capitalization of $400.01 billion, a PE ratio of 27.16, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.0568 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 67.20%.

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.