E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 63.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,738 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,991 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $4,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,010,685,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after buying an additional 3,619,466 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,290,573,000 after buying an additional 1,760,214 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth $301,950,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 25,115.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,736,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,184,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729,969 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on PG shares. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.11.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.1 %

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $174.50 on Friday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $153.52 and a 12 month high of $180.43. The company has a market capitalization of $409.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for 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%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Procter & Gamble Profile

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.