Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 97,592 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,814,391 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 97,592 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble makes up approximately 0.7% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $974,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 19,030.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,693,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $639,730,000 after buying an additional 3,674,286 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after buying an additional 3,619,466 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,290,573,000 after buying an additional 1,760,214 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $301,950,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 416.1% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,016,000 after buying an additional 1,466,115 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value 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 represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group cut their price target on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $167.99 on Friday. 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 Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $153.52 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $393.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $167.53 and its 200 day moving average is $169.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.17%.

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.