International Assets Investment Management LLC significantly boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) during the third quarter, increasing its position by 1,150.5%. The fund now holds 250,000 shares, valued at $36,320,000, after purchasing an additional 230,008 shares. Other institutional investors also made notable moves, with Bank of America Corp DE acquiring a new position worth $3,850,628,000 during the second quarter.
In insider trading news, CEO Paul Gama sold 4,331 shares on October 23rd at an average price of $161.27, totaling $698,460.37. This transaction reduced his ownership by 8.47%. Similarly, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 4,181 shares at $160.71 each, amounting to $671,928.51, a 27.01% decrease in his stake. Overall, insiders sold 58,647 shares worth $9,268,508 in the last quarter, representing 0.23% of the company's stock.
Analysts have mixed views on Procter & Gamble. Freedom Broker upgraded the stock from "hold" to "buy" with a $176.00 price target, while DZ Bank downgraded it from "strong-buy" to "hold." The company's shares opened at $161.42 on Friday, with a market cap of $374.14 billion and a P/E ratio of 24.31. Procter & Gamble reported quarterly earnings of $2.00 per share, beating estimates by $0.11, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.0885, payable on November 16th.
The company's revenue grew 4.0% year-over-year to $23.28 billion, but higher operating costs could pressure margins. Analysts anticipate earnings of $6.99 per share for the current fiscal year. Procter & Gamble's bond issuance and advertising challenge also drew attention, though the latter did not result in a material financial catalyst.