Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Acquires 86,696 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 7.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,322,553 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 86,696 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $214,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $3,956,117,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 106.2% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,134,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $898,943,000 after purchasing an additional 3,159,796 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,193,916,000 after buying an additional 3,047,557 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 13,850.3% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,747,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,601,000 after buying an additional 2,727,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 235.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,231,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $473,475,000 after buying an additional 2,268,805 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:PG traded up $1.58 on Tuesday, hitting $163.24. The stock had a trading volume of 8,105,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,942,727. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $141.45 and a 1 year high of $164.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.91. The stock has a market cap of $385.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share 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 given a $1.0065 dividend. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,265.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $3,549,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,845 shares in the company, valued at $5,943,835.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,865 shares of company stock valued at $9,009,280 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.76.

About Procter & Gamble

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.