N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 90,723 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,701 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble makes up approximately 1.6% of N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $13,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 83,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,185,000 after purchasing an additional 20,449 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 257,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,790,000 after buying an additional 1,772 shares in the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 5,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $789,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 183,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 356,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,273,000 after buying an additional 8,439 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $164.44. 5,470,365 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,902,192. The stock has a market capitalization of $388.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $141.45 and a 12-month high of $164.98. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $154.37.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current 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 paid a $1.0065 dividend. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $768,256.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total value of $5,049,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,739 shares in the company, valued at $1,586,483.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at $768,256.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 86,865 shares of company stock valued at $14,059,180. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price 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. Truist Financial upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Argus boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.