The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Position Boosted by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 466,497 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,163 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $78,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MontVue Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $228,000. Retirement Guys Formula LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 7,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after buying an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 89.5% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 14,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,509,000 after buying an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,806,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on PG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $171.15 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $166.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.44. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $153.52 and a 12-month high of $180.43. The stock has a market cap of $401.33 billion, a PE ratio of 27.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 64.17%.

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.