Prudential PLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 162,831 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,463 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $23,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 16,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,372,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on PG. Truist Financial raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Barclays increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG traded down $1.41 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $167.06. 4,558,190 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,241,319. The company has a market capitalization of $394.28 billion, a PE ratio of 27.30, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.91. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $141.45 and a one year high of $168.97.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total transaction of $135,517.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,004 shares in the company, valued at $634,634. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total value of $135,517.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,004 shares in the company, valued at $634,634. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 154,544 shares of company stock worth $25,413,051. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

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.