South Dakota Investment Council Raises Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

South Dakota Investment Council grew its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 36.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 38,729 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,338 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $6,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,812,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 11.2% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 605 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Tevis Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 11,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $170.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $166.04 and its 200 day moving average is $169.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $153.52 and a 52-week high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal 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 yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.01%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PG. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble 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.