Parnassus Investments LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Parnassus Investments LLC lessened its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,499,460 shares of the company’s stock after selling 297,519 shares during the quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC owned 0.15% of Procter & Gamble worth $586,684,000 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 boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 933.3% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the third quarter worth about $33,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 972.0% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on PG shares. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Barclays upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $168.50 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.82. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $153.52 and a 12 month high of $180.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $395.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

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.