Norges Bank Buys New Stake in Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG

Key Points

• Norges Bank opened a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter, buying 32.55 million shares worth about $4.66 billion. The stake represents about 1.40% of P&G and is Norges Bank’s 28th largest holding.
• Procter & Gamble recently reported better-than-expected earnings of $1.59 per share, beating estimates, while revenue came in slightly below consensus at $21.24 billion. The company also raised its FY 2026 guidance to 6.830-7.090 EPS.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $1.0885 per share, bringing the annualized payout to $4.35 and the dividend yield to about 3.0%. Wall Street remains moderately positive overall, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $161.06.

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 32,550,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,664,783,000. Procter & Gamble makes up 0.5% of Norges Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Norges Bank owned about 1.40% of Procter & Gamble as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Trilogy Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 6,289 shares of the company's stock valued at $901,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,829 shares of the company's stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Grant Street Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Grant Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,627 shares of the company's stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beech Hill Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Beech Hill Advisors Inc. now owns 14,238 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,040,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on PG shares. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $163.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, April 27th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $167.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $161.06.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG opened at $143.60 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $144.41 and a 200-day moving average of $147.89. The company has a market capitalization of $334.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.99, a PEG ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.41. Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $137.62 and a 1-year high of $170.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.52 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 32.00%. The company's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. Procter & Gamble has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.830-7.090 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 24th were given a $1.0885 dividend. This represents a $4.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 24th. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is presently 63.60%.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble NYSE: PG is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world's largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G's product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.

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