First Manhattan CO. LLC. Increases Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. increased its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 252,805 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,237 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC.'s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $43,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hoey Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 95.3% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 207 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 25,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,995,627.94. This trade represents a 29.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 64,520 shares of company stock worth $10,999,268. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PG shares. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.52.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $157.73. 6,450,866 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,201,672. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business's fifty day moving average is $165.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.54. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $156.58 and a one year high of $180.43. The stock has a market cap of $369.80 billion, a PE ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

About Procter & Gamble

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.