Ethic Inc. Increases Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 101.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 36,807 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,502 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $6,171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PG. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Hoey Investments Inc. increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 95.3% during the fourth 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 last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PG shares. Redburn Partners set a $161.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America lowered their price target on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price objective on Procter & Gamble and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.52.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $157.73 on Friday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $156.58 and a 12-month high of $180.43. The company has a market cap of $369.80 billion, a PE ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $165.92 and a 200 day moving average of $167.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.98%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,274.66. This trade represents a 44.94 % 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 Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total transaction of $161,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 51,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 64,520 shares of company stock valued at $10,999,268. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble 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.