Mizuho Bank Ltd. Takes Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,812,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Tevis Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 11,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alhambra Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 5,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $970,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 5.0 %

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $163.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $383.92 billion, a PE ratio of 26.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $153.52 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $169.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.20.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. The trade was a 61.35 % 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 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PG. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.00.

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.