Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. Has $3.35 Million Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,993 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $3,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,524,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,061 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,472,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,457,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,419 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $5,244,463,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,197,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,386,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209,275 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,692,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,133,850,000 after buying an additional 312,203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’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 value of $14,819,328.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $163.73 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $383.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $153.52 and a one 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $169.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.12.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm’s 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 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.01%.

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.