Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Acquires 47,600 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 742,434 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 47,600 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble comprises about 1.3% of Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $124,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 416.1% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,016,000 after purchasing an additional 1,466,115 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,503,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,432,000 after buying an additional 56,583 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,442,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 1,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Network Inc. bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $354,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

NYSE:PG opened at $170.17 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $399.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.10, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $153.52 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Procter & Gamble

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.