New England Asset Management Inc. Sells 4,283 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

New England Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,390 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,283 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble comprises about 1.2% of New England Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. New England Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $7,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PG. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14.9% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 18,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,700,000 after buying an additional 2,397 shares during the last quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 6,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. USAdvisors Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.6% during the third quarter. USAdvisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Watchman Group Inc. increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 18,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,633,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, First National Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 295.4% during the 3rd quarter. First National Advisers LLC now owns 7,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 5,479 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on PG. StockNews.com raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Truist Financial raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $5,329,711.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $5,329,711.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at $3,179,061.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 9,149 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.72, for a total value of $1,534,470.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,168,451.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 154,544 shares of company stock valued at $25,413,051. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PG traded down $2.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $165.18. 5,443,761 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,540,358. The company has a market capitalization of $389.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $162.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $157.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $168.97.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were given a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 65.85%.

Procter & Gamble Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.