Arizona State Retirement System Buys 5,808 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 682,155 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble makes up about 0.8% of Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $112,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alera Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% during the first quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $812,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 4.1% during the second quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.8% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 2,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the first quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 5,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $925,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Home Federal Bank of Tennessee boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.3% during the second quarter. Home Federal Bank of Tennessee now owns 23,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,846,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,451.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 72,174 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.01, for a total value of $12,342,475.74. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 263,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,002,649.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $1,458,045.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,451.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 375,553 shares of company stock worth $63,829,141. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PG. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $182.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.79.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $175.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $414.16 billion, a PE ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.52. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $141.45 and a one year high of $176.55.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.69 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The firm’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.85%.

Procter & Gamble 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.