Ashburton Jersey Ltd Takes Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Ashburton Jersey Ltd acquired a new position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 44,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,468,000. Procter & Gamble comprises about 3.3% of Ashburton Jersey Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $820,031,000 after purchasing an additional 608,168 shares during the last quarter. United Bank grew 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 valued at $2,315,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the third quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.3% in the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 103,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,913,000 after buying an additional 5,177 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 5.0 %

NYSE:PG opened at $163.73 on Friday. 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 Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $153.52 and a 1-year high of $180.43. The company has a 50-day moving average of $169.17 and a 200 day moving average of $169.15. The firm has a market cap of $383.92 billion, a PE ratio of 26.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on PG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Erste Group Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This represents 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 this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,274.66. The trade was a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.