Leavell Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG – Get Rating) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,989 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $7,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 96,526.4% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,535,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,840,449,000 after acquiring an additional 38,495,676 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $3,752,321,000. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,320,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,717,246,000 after acquiring an additional 4,959,527 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 43.9% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,462,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,434,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,888,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 224,570,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,351,991,000 after acquiring an additional 2,197,165 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.65% of the company’s stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.03, for a total value of $4,836,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,014 shares in the company, valued at $1,562,484.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Andre Schulten sold 25,244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.27, for a total value of $3,919,635.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,118 shares in the company, valued at $4,210,611.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.03, for a total transaction of $4,836,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,562,484.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,093 shares of company stock worth $14,821,930 over the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Procter & Gamble Price Performance
Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 21st. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.05. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.69% and a return on equity of 32.18%. The company had revenue of $20.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current year.
Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 21st were paid a dividend of $0.9407 per share. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 20th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 65.51%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of brokerages have issued reports on PG. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 24th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.50.
About Procter & Gamble
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.
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