Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Increases Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 23.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,746 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. St. Clair Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,923,000. Tremblant Capital Group raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Tremblant Capital Group now owns 21,553 shares of the company's stock worth $3,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,816 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 18,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,040,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 100.5% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 110,300 shares of the company's stock worth $18,492,000 after acquiring an additional 55,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Texas Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,946,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PG traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $165.95. The stock had a trading volume of 5,349,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,275,251. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $164.19 and a 200-day moving average of $167.36. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $156.58 and a 12-month high of $180.43. The company has a market capitalization of $389.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 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 the consensus estimate of $20.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The 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 given a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on PG shares. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Procter & Gamble from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $161.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised Procter & Gamble from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $177.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.52.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 25,182 shares in the company, valued at $3,995,627.94. This represents a 29.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 51,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,386,111.70. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 64,520 shares of company stock worth $10,999,268 in the last quarter. Corporate 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.