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

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 23.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PG. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 933.3% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC increased its position 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 worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PG. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 target price on Procter & Gamble and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James dropped 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble 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 transaction of $1,669,208.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,995,627.94. This represents a 29.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 64,520 shares of company stock valued at $10,999,268 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG stock opened at $165.66 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $164.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.30. The firm has a market cap of $388.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.38, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $156.58 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.42 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. 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%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

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.