Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Reduces Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. cut its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,576 shares of the company’s stock after selling 867 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble makes up approximately 1.6% of Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $2,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 972.0% in the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% during the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $173.84 on Friday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $153.52 and a 12-month high of $180.43. The stock has a market cap of $407.63 billion, a PE ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $166.29 and a 200-day moving average of $169.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PG. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

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 value of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.