Aspiring Ventures LLC Invests $1.34 Million in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Aspiring Ventures LLC purchased a new position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 8,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,339,000. Procter & Gamble makes up 0.9% of Aspiring Ventures LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PG. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors now owns 16,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,785,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 234,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,363,000 after acquiring an additional 16,921 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 73,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,557 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 113.5% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 102,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,251,000 after purchasing an additional 54,699 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of PG stock opened at $164.41 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $387.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.45. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $152.06 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 32.88%. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21,657,595.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.17%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on PG. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.53.

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.