Covea Finance Sells 42,000 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Covea Finance decreased its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 43.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,970 shares of the company’s stock after selling 42,000 shares during the period. Covea Finance’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $9,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Costello Asset Management INC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% during the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG stock opened at $159.75 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $376.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.52. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $146.28 and a one year high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 69.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total transaction of $2,163,072.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,566 shares in the company, valued at $1,954,538.34. This represents a 52.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $338,640.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,783 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,110. This trade represents a 12.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 75,439 shares of company stock worth $13,317,460 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PG shares. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.75.

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.