Versant Capital Management Inc Purchases 3,173 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 92.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,617 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,173 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PG. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Hoey Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $1,669,208.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 25,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,995,627.94. This represents a 29.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value of $161,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,386,111.70. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PG shares. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Redburn Partners set a $161.00 price objective on Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup cut their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James cut their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price objective on Procter & Gamble and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.52.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG stock opened at $168.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $156.58 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $164.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.36. The company has a market capitalization of $395.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

About Procter & Gamble

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.