Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,771 shares of the company’s stock after selling 72 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 3,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 8,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. KWB Wealth purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at about $207,000. Biltmore Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Biltmore Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $975,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ignite Planners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 12,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,051,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG opened at $159.82 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $376.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.56, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.45. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $146.28 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $169.40 and a 200-day moving average of $169.52.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 69.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $338,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,110. This trade represents a 12.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 75,439 shares of company stock valued at $13,317,460. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, December 27th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lowered Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.75.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.