BluePath Capital Management LLC Buys 2,596 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

BluePath Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 174.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,088 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,596 shares during the quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 7.3% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,537,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,324,000 after acquiring an additional 105,102 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.2% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,170,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,629,299,000 after purchasing an additional 346,925 shares during the period. Cito Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.2% in the third quarter. Cito Capital Group LLC now owns 14,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,071,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 4,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Objective Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 5.4% in the third quarter. Objective Capital Management LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $5,329,711.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 9,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.72, for a total transaction of $1,534,470.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,168,451.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total transaction of $5,329,711.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,179,061.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 154,544 shares of company stock valued at $25,413,051 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG opened at $163.76 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $165.70 and a 200-day moving average of $159.15. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $141.45 and a one year high of $169.41. The company has a market cap of $386.50 billion, a PE ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 65.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on PG. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.72.

Procter & Gamble Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.