Argent Trust Co Sells 350 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Argent Trust Co cut its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 137,837 shares of the company’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises 0.9% of Argent Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $23,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PG. NewSquare Capital LLC grew 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 95.3% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG traded up $1.30 on Thursday, hitting $163.62. 476,605 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,002,922. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $168.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.72. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $153.52 and a one year high of $180.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $383.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.01, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,274.66. This trade represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.00.

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.