Ashburton Jersey Ltd Takes Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Ashburton Jersey Ltd bought a new position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 44,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,468,000. Procter & Gamble comprises 3.3% of Ashburton Jersey Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PG. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the fourth 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 period. Hoey Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 95.3% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 5.0 %

PG opened at $163.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $169.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $383.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $153.52 and a 1-year high of $180.43.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given 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 2.46%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on PG. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.00.

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.