Wedbush Securities Inc. Grows Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,313 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,456 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $11,788,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,524,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,061 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,472,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,457,000,000 after buying an additional 1,267,419 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,244,463,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,197,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,386,194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209,275 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,692,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,133,850,000 after acquiring an additional 312,203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, 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 transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. This trade represents a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 5.0 %

Shares of PG stock opened at $163.73 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $169.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.20. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $153.52 and a 1-year high of $180.43. The company has a market cap of $383.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

About Procter & Gamble

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.