Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC Sells 7,523 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC lowered its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 24.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,754 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,523 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises approximately 0.0% of Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $3,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Intrust Bank NA grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 19,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,267,000 after acquiring an additional 777 shares during the last quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC now owns 77,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,949,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the period. Allstate Corp grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3,290.6% in the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 69,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,721,000 after purchasing an additional 67,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 383,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,256,000 after buying an additional 21,582 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG opened at $167.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $393.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50-day moving average is $168.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.41. 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 fifty-two week low of $153.52 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PG shares. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target 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. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.82.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.