The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Stock Position Trimmed by Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 152,910 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,768 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises approximately 3.7% of Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $25,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PG. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,010,685,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,619,466 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,596,000 after acquiring an additional 2,973,757 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,290,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 25,115.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,736,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,969 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.47.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,829,817.68. The trade was a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $168.66 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $395.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.77. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $153.52 and a 12 month high of $180.43.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

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.