Vista Investment Partners II LLC Purchases Shares of 6,414 The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC bought a new position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,075,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,619,466 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,599,554,000 after buying an additional 689,282 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,290,573,000 after buying an additional 1,760,214 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,692,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,133,850,000 after acquiring an additional 312,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,881,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,830,252,000 after acquiring an additional 459,437 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $176.06 on Monday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $153.52 and a 52 week high of $180.43. 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 firm has a market cap of $412.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $166.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.77.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on 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 increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.11.

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.