Rafferty Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 204,411 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,710 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $34,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $97,989,000. Redwood Investment Management LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 4,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $775,000 after buying an additional 1,561 shares during the period. Rockbridge Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at $289,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,597,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,902,000 after buying an additional 138,863 shares during the period. Finally, Quadcap Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 192.1% in the fourth quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,949,000 after purchasing an additional 11,568 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.3%

PG stock opened at $158.27 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company’s 50 day moving average is $164.97 and its 200 day moving average is $167.37. The stock has a market cap of $371.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $156.58 and a 1-year high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $1.0568 dividend. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $1,669,208.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,182 shares in the company, valued at $3,995,627.94. This represents a 29.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. The trade was a 61.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 64,520 shares of company stock valued at $10,999,268. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PG. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Redburn Partners set a $161.00 price target on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.52.

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.