Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Takes Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 787,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $132,293,000. Procter & Gamble makes up approximately 0.8% of Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Orion Investment Co raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 59,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,951,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the period. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 22,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,781,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Broderick Brian C raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Broderick Brian C now owns 102,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,808 shares during the last quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 23,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,901,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth about $140,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE PG opened at $163.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $383.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $153.52 and a 1-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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $169.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.20.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. Seven 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.