Handelsbanken Fonder AB Trims Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 893,688 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,624 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises 0.6% of Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $152,302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 933.3% in 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. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 321.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $161.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $161.00 price objective on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.86.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

NYSE PG traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $163.10. The stock had a trading volume of 6,491,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,350,878. 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 company has a market cap of $382.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $156.58 and a 52-week high of $180.43. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.05.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $1,669,208.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 25,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,995,627.94. This represents a 29.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total transaction of $161,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at $8,386,111.70. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.