Maryland State Retirement & Pension System acquired a new stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG – Get Rating) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 185,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,042,000. Procter & Gamble makes up 0.8% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 224,570,227 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,351,991,000 after acquiring an additional 2,197,165 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 161,904,833 shares of the company's stock worth $20,440,487,000 after buying an additional 1,811,085 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 104,749,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,224,594,000 after purchasing an additional 797,652 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 18,536,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,665,327,000 after purchasing an additional 637,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 22.6% during the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 16,567,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,382,268,000 after purchasing an additional 3,054,844 shares in the last quarter. 62.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 709 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.34, for a total transaction of $97,374.06. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,198 shares in the company, valued at $1,400,593.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 709 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.34, for a total transaction of $97,374.06. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,198 shares in the company, valued at $1,400,593.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andre Schulten sold 1,311 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.34, for a total transaction of $180,052.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 35,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,826,402.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,766 shares of company stock worth $656,511 over the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $146.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $346.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.89. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $122.18 and a one year high of $164.90.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 19th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.75 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.79% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The firm's revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 5.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 20th were issued a dividend of $0.9133 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 19th. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Monday, March 20th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $158.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 23rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $150.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Friday, March 3rd. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $155.27.

About Procter & Gamble

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Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & 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.

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