Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) by 8.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,130,944 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 383,784 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $874,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 40,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,717,000 after buying an additional 13,617 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 493.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 341,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,294,000 after acquiring an additional 284,174 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $170,000. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,686,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,517,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,371,000 after purchasing an additional 8,864 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value of $161,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $1,669,208.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 25,182 shares in the company, valued at $3,995,627.94. This trade represents a 29.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of PG stock opened at $161.07 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $377.64 billion, a PE ratio of 25.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.40. Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $156.58 and a 52-week high of $180.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $162.08 and its 200 day moving average is $165.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.67% and a net margin of 18.46%. The firm had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a $1.0568 dividend. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 67.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.45.

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.