Federated Hermes Inc. Has $154.30 Million Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 22.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,052,971 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 196,507 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $154,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 96,526.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,535,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,840,449,000 after acquiring an additional 38,495,676 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $3,752,321,000. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,320,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,717,246,000 after buying an additional 4,959,527 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 118.1% in the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,334,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $961,170,000 after buying an additional 3,429,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 106.2% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,134,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $898,943,000 after buying an additional 3,159,796 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at $1,908,891.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at $1,908,891.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at $768,256.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 279,063 shares of company stock worth $43,187,745. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Procter & Gamble stock traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $156.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,458,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,791,014. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $141.45 and a 52 week high of $163.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $159.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $152.80. The stock has a market cap of $368.81 billion, a PE ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $21.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.48 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 34.04% and a net margin of 17.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.59 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 62.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.53.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.