Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Increases Position in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,966,462 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 152,071 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for about 0.7% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.25% of Procter & Gamble worth $1,016,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hoey Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.45.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.9%

PG stock opened at $160.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $375.11 billion, a PE ratio of 25.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.43. Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $156.58 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $162.44 and a 200 day moving average of $165.62.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.46% and a return on equity of 32.67%. The business had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a $1.0568 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.14%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value of $161,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 25,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,995,627.94. The trade was a 29.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.