Encompass More Asset Management Increases Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Encompass More Asset Management grew its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,561 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the quarter. Encompass More Asset Management’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $932,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,538,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619,466 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,599,554,000 after purchasing an additional 689,282 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,290,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,214 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 4.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,380,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,183,522,000 after purchasing an additional 830,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,422,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,844,442,000 after purchasing an additional 105,734 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $164.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $387.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.45. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $152.06 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $168.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.34.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $21,657,595.49 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 32.88%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.17%.

Procter & Gamble 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.