AQR Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

AQR Capital Management LLC lowered its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,355,790 shares of the company’s stock after selling 189,590 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of Procter & Gamble worth $226,648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the 4th 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. Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 95.3% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $161.87 on Tuesday. 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 fifty day moving average of $168.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.25. The company has a market capitalization of $379.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.78, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $156.58 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.42 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PG shares. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Friday. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.79.

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.