Stack Financial Management Inc Reduces Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Stack Financial Management Inc cut its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,208 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,481 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for 1.6% of Stack Financial Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Stack Financial Management Inc’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $14,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PG. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 106.2% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,134,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $898,943,000 after buying an additional 3,159,796 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,193,916,000 after purchasing an additional 3,047,557 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 13,850.3% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,747,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,601,000 after acquiring an additional 2,727,685 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 235.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,231,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $473,475,000 after acquiring an additional 2,268,805 shares during the period. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth $246,412,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,788. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $151,788. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $3,549,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,943,835.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 100,865 shares of company stock valued at $16,029,280 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:PG traded down $1.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $161.30. The company had a trading volume of 1,840,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,908,281. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $159.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.30, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.44. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $141.45 and a one year high of $164.32.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.85%.

Procter & Gamble Profile

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.