The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Stock Position Raised by Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lifted its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 300,209 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,645 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $50,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PG. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 972.0% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PG. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

NYSE PG opened at $168.35 on Thursday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $153.52 and a twelve month high of $180.43. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $394.75 billion, a PE ratio of 26.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.83.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.