Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Decreases Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 151,893 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,501 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble comprises 0.9% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $25,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norden Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,406,000 after buying an additional 1,769 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 30,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,155,000 after buying an additional 7,221 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 43,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,340,000 after buying an additional 1,407 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 4,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $738,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the period. Finally, Hickory Point Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $849,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PG shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.11.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $173.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $407.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. 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 Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $153.52 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $166.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.56.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.