Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Grows Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,510,019 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 53,170 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for approximately 0.6% of Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.06% of Procter & Gamble worth $253,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,442,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 14.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $820,031,000 after purchasing an additional 608,168 shares during the period. United Bank raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 13,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter valued at $824,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 15,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,601,000 after acquiring an additional 1,934 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $165.73 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $388.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $153.52 and a one year high of $180.43. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,274.66. The trade was a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on PG shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.47.

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.