Scotia Capital Inc. Increases Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Scotia Capital Inc. increased its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 468,413 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 39,709 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $78,536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,524,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,061 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,472,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,457,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267,419 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,244,463,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,197,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,386,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209,275 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,692,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,133,850,000 after purchasing an additional 312,203 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $162.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $381.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $168.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.72. 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 Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $153.52 and a 52-week high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.0568 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 2.60%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 64.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.00.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. The trade was a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.