Vantage Point Financial LLC Makes New $774,000 Investment in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Vantage Point Financial LLC purchased a new position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 416.1% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,016,000 after buying an additional 1,466,115 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 479,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,057,000 after acquiring an additional 29,799 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 35,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,141,000 after purchasing an additional 8,652 shares in the last quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC now owns 8,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.9% during the third quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 54,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,473,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on PG shares. Barclays upped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $168.90 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $153.52 and a twelve month high of $180.43. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $168.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.41. The company has a market cap of $396.05 billion, a PE ratio of 26.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the business’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. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.