Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) Position Boosted by Essex Savings Bank

Essex Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,619 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,749 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble makes up 1.4% of Essex Savings Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Essex Savings Bank's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $5,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,244,463,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 20,758.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,951,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,355,087,000 after buying an additional 7,913,335 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,010,685,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company's stock valued at $580,596,000 after buying an additional 2,973,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,398,120 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,240,294,000 after buying an additional 2,846,560 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value of $161,380.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on PG. Citigroup lowered their price target on Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Erste Group Bank cut Procter & Gamble from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Procter & Gamble from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $161.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.86.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of PG stock opened at $158.53 on Wednesday. Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $156.58 and a 12 month high of $180.43. The firm has a market cap of $371.67 billion, a PE ratio of 25.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $163.73 and a 200-day moving average of $166.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.67% and a net margin of 18.46%. Procter & Gamble's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a $1.0568 dividend. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.14%.

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.

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