World Investment Advisors Boosts Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

World Investment Advisors raised its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 25.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,027 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,693 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $8,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG opened at $169.74 on Thursday. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $169.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.27. The stock has a market cap of $398.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $153.52 and a one year high of $180.43.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.01%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were 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 $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on PG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.82.

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.