Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,197,996 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,209,275 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble comprises about 0.9% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $3,386,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 95.3% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’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 transaction 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 represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on PG shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Erste Group Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.82.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of PG opened at $167.94 on Monday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $153.52 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.31. 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 $393.80 billion, a PE ratio of 26.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.