The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Bought by Catalina Capital Group LLC

Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 184.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,910 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,432 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble comprises 0.7% of Catalina Capital Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Catalina Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,608,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,193,916,000 after purchasing an additional 3,047,557 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,956,117,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,209,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,336,552,000 after acquiring an additional 206,165 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,556,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,547,021,000 after purchasing an additional 559,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,571,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,402,636,000 after purchasing an additional 246,323 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total transaction of $135,517.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $634,634. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total transaction of $135,517.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $634,634. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 154,544 shares of company stock worth $25,413,051 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.72.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG traded up $1.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $166.73. The stock had a trading volume of 5,036,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,528,171. The company has a market capitalization of $393.51 billion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $141.45 and a 1 year high of $169.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $165.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 19th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.