Sheets Smith Wealth Management Reduces Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management decreased its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,168 shares of the company’s stock after selling 559 shares during the quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arlington Partners LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 160.2% in the 3rd quarter. Arlington Partners LLC now owns 21,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,156,000 after acquiring an additional 13,319 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $256,000. Channel Wealth LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 13,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,026,000 after purchasing an additional 1,631 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 21,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,089,000 after purchasing an additional 3,785 shares during the period. Finally, Compton Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Compton Financial Group LLC now owns 1,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total value of $5,049,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 9,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,586,483.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total transaction of $5,049,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,586,483.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 86,865 shares of company stock valued at $14,059,180 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE PG traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $164.04. 3,146,374 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,874,059. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.25. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $141.45 and a one year high of $164.98. The company has a market cap of $387.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.76.

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.