Tufton Capital Management Sells 1,995 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Tufton Capital Management reduced its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 65,594 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,995 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for 2.0% of Tufton Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $9,612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 46,754,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,936,343,000 after acquiring an additional 510,559 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,320,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,717,246,000 after buying an additional 4,959,527 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 96,526.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,535,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,840,449,000 after buying an additional 38,495,676 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,193,916,000 after acquiring an additional 3,047,557 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,313,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,275,616,000 after acquiring an additional 670,862 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total transaction of $11,412,111.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $149,160.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total transaction of $11,412,111.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,160.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $3,549,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,845 shares in the company, valued at $5,943,835.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 279,063 shares of company stock valued at $43,187,745. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE PG traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $156.52. The stock had a trading volume of 2,162,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,785,568. The firm has a market cap of $368.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.64. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $159.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.80. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $141.45 and a 1 year high of $163.14.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.14. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 34.04% and a net margin of 17.60%. The firm had revenue of $21.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.59 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 62.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Truist Financial upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.53.

About Procter & Gamble

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.