The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Bought by National Pension Service

National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,566,732 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 68,675 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble makes up approximately 0.7% of National Pension Service’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. National Pension Service’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $522,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Demars Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 16,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,372,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PG shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $165.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,149,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,806,576. The stock has a market capitalization of $391.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $141.45 and a one year high of $166.37. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $154.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $1.0065 dividend. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 65.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 21,388 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.98, for a total value of $3,528,592.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,080,172.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 21,388 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.98, for a total transaction of $3,528,592.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,080,172.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at $1,908,891.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 140,112 shares of company stock worth $22,841,321. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Profile

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.