Stevens Capital Management LP Buys Shares of 16,537 The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,423,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cardinal Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 48,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,073,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Altus Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.5% in the third quarter. Altus Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,460,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 21.3% in the third quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 5,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the third quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 42,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,180,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.4% during the third quarter. Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 9,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PG shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.8 %

Procter & Gamble stock traded down $1.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $161.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,659,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,957,020. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $141.45 and a 1 year high of $164.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $159.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $380.67 billion, a PE ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,788. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 100,865 shares of company stock worth $16,029,280. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.