Dash Acquisitions Inc. Boosts Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Dash Acquisitions Inc. lifted its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 45.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,026 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,591 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble comprises about 1.8% of Dash Acquisitions Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Dash Acquisitions Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $5,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,193,916,000 after buying an additional 3,047,557 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at $3,956,117,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,209,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,336,552,000 after purchasing an additional 206,165 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.2% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,556,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,547,021,000 after buying an additional 559,358 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE PG opened at $163.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $386.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $165.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.01. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $141.45 and a 1-year high of $169.41.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $5,329,711.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at $3,179,061.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at $3,179,061.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total transaction of $135,517.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $634,634. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 154,544 shares of company stock worth $25,413,051 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Argus boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.72.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.