The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Acquired by World Investment Advisors

World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 25.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 48,027 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,693 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $8,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,244,463,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,010,685,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,538,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,619,466 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,290,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,214 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG opened at $169.74 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $398.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.03, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $169.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.27. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $153.52 and a 12-month high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’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 owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PG shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, 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 note on Monday, February 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.82.

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.