Stokes Capital Advisors LLC Increases Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Stokes Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 45,864 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble makes up about 2.1% of Stokes Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $7,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,956,117,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,209,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,336,552,000 after acquiring an additional 206,165 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,556,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,547,021,000 after purchasing an additional 559,358 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,571,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,402,636,000 after purchasing an additional 246,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,492,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,390,963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387,539 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.4 %

PG opened at $168.57 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $397.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.30. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $141.45 and a 1-year high of $171.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.69 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.46% and a net margin of 17.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. Analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 72,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.01, for a total value of $12,342,475.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 263,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,002,649.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $1,458,045.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,451.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 72,174 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.01, for a total transaction of $12,342,475.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 263,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,002,649.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 84,389 shares of company stock worth $14,373,932. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PG shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $182.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.95.

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.