Mizuho Securities USA LLC Grows Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 46.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 223,205 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 70,557 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for about 0.7% of Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $37,420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.9% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,503,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,432,000 after acquiring an additional 56,583 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,031,000 after acquiring an additional 608,168 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 13,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth about $5,250,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PG. Barclays lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $166.60 on Friday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $153.52 and a 1-year high of $180.43. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $167.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $390.66 billion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

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 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.01%.

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.