The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) is Washington Trust Bank’s 4th Largest Position

Washington Trust Bank lowered its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 256,591 shares of the company’s stock after selling 424 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble comprises 3.3% of Washington Trust Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $37,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 9.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,193,916,000 after buying an additional 3,047,557 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,313,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,275,616,000 after purchasing an additional 670,862 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $3,956,117,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,209,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,336,552,000 after purchasing an additional 206,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,170,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,629,299,000 after buying an additional 346,925 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG traded up $0.13 on Tuesday, hitting $167.48. The company had a trading volume of 3,947,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,550,144. The company has a market cap of $395.28 billion, a PE ratio of 27.27, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day moving average of $162.65 and a 200 day moving average of $157.12. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $168.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 65.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total transaction of $5,329,711.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at $3,179,061.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $5,329,711.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 154,544 shares of company stock valued at $25,413,051 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on PG shares. StockNews.com upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.76.

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.