The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by GQG Partners LLC

GQG Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 44.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,329,268 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,300,953 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises approximately 1.3% of GQG Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. GQG Partners LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $893,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,524,976,000 after buying an additional 1,592,061 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,538,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,619,466 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,599,554,000 after acquiring an additional 689,282 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,290,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,214 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,692,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,133,850,000 after purchasing an additional 312,203 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

PG stock opened at $165.73 on Tuesday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $153.52 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $388.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $168.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.58.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

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