Blue Trust Inc. Buys 569 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 58,723 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $9,528,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at about $17,696,000. Dfpg Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 24,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,680,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Campbell Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Campbell Wealth Management now owns 1,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 26,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,897,000 after buying an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 29.0% in the first quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 43,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,010,000 after buying an additional 9,716 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

PG stock traded up $1.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $165.21. The stock had a trading volume of 6,509,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,655,382. The stock has a market cap of $389.92 billion, a PE ratio of 27.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.35. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $169.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total value of $135,517.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,004 shares in the company, valued at $634,634. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 154,544 shares of company stock valued at $25,413,051. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PG shares. StockNews.com upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.72.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.