Sit Investment Associates Inc. Grows Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. increased its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,245 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,330 shares during the quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $13,453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 236,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,833,000 after buying an additional 2,179 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,374,000 after buying an additional 1,818 shares during the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at approximately $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $569,000. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 123,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,764,000 after buying an additional 2,568 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on PG. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research 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 report on Monday, March 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.00.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $163.73 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $383.92 billion, a PE ratio of 26.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $153.52 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. 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 2.46%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.01%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble 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.