Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes $1.01 Billion Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,028,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,010,685,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 41,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,975,000 after acquiring an additional 3,784 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $253,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 309,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,832,000 after purchasing an additional 25,099 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 682,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,486,000 after purchasing an additional 6,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 51,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,643,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG opened at $174.83 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $166.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.69. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $153.52 and a 12-month high of $180.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $409.95 billion, a PE ratio of 27.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PG. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.11.

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.