LPL Financial LLC Buys 163,545 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,291,160 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 163,545 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.14% of Procter & Gamble worth $551,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth about $33,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 95.3% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on PG. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble 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 three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.47.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of Procter & Gamble 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG stock opened at $166.60 on Friday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $153.52 and a 52-week high of $180.43. The stock has a market cap of $390.66 billion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $167.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.69.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same period 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 forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. Procter & Gamble’s 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.