Aviva PLC Acquires 58,637 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Aviva PLC increased its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,873,025 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 58,637 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for 0.8% of Aviva PLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Aviva PLC owned approximately 0.08% of Procter & Gamble worth $314,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,524,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,061 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,472,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,457,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,419 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $5,244,463,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,197,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,386,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209,275 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,692,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,133,850,000 after buying an additional 312,203 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on PG. Erste Group Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.00.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. The trade was a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE:PG opened at $163.73 on Friday. 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 Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $153.52 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $169.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.20. The firm has a market cap of $383.92 billion, a PE ratio of 26.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.01%.

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.