The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Bought by Wesleyan Assurance Society

Wesleyan Assurance Society increased its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 122,243 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,800 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble makes up 1.6% of Wesleyan Assurance Society’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Wesleyan Assurance Society’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $20,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whelan Financial lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 3,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 54,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,105,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $22,825,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 226,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,044,000 after acquiring an additional 39,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victrix Investment Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at $382,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total transaction of $161,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. This trade represents a 44.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 64,520 shares of company stock worth $10,999,268. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of PG stock opened at $164.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $164.42 and a 200-day moving average of $167.31. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $156.58 and a 52-week high of $180.43. The stock has a market cap of $386.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The company’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a $1.0568 dividend. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Redburn Atlantic cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $161.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.52.

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.