WBI Investments LLC Has $442,000 Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

WBI Investments LLC grew its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,636 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. WBI Investments LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were 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 approximately $8,386,111.70. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 64,520 shares of company stock worth $10,999,268. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Redburn Partners set a $161.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $161.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.52.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of PG stock opened at $164.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $164.42 and its 200-day moving average is $167.31. The stock has a market cap of $386.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $156.58 and a 52-week high of $180.43.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a $1.0568 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 66.98%.

About Procter & Gamble

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.