Empirical Finance LLC Has $14.25 Million Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 82,251 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,689 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for 0.8% of Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $14,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 48,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,388,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Connable Office Inc. lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 25,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,331,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 446,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,265,000 after acquiring an additional 23,169 shares in the last quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co now owns 10,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,869,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 142.1% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 909,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,565,000 after acquiring an additional 533,999 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.22, for a total value of $76,149.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,212,043.84. The trade was a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 31,797 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.22, for a total transaction of $5,380,688.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 300,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,897,483.94. This trade represents a 9.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,597 shares of company stock worth $53,268,499 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $167.12 on Friday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $142.50 and a 1 year high of $177.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $170.61 and its 200 day moving average is $168.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $393.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.42.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 69.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price target for the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.00.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.