The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Acquired by Sovereign Financial Group Inc.

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 20.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,758 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Hoey Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on PG. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.86.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $164.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $384.53 billion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $164.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.27. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $156.58 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were given a $1.0568 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.98%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $1,669,208.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 25,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,995,627.94. This trade represents a 29.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total transaction of $161,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.