Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC Lowers Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC trimmed its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 24.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 23,754 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,523 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for approximately 0.0% of Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $3,982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PG. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 933.3% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 95.3% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 972.0% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.82.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE PG opened at $167.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $393.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $153.52 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The business has a fifty day moving average of $168.60 and a 200-day moving average of $169.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value 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. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. The trade was a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.