The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by First Foundation Advisors

First Foundation Advisors reduced its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,610 shares of the company’s stock after selling 495 shares during the period. First Foundation Advisors’ holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,524,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,061 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $5,244,463,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,197,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,386,194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,692,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,133,850,000 after purchasing an additional 312,203 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE:PG opened at $163.80 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $384.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $168.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $168.66. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $153.52 and a 12 month high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.0568 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PG shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.00.

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.