Ruggaard & Associates LLC Cuts Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Ruggaard & Associates LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,741 shares of the company’s stock after selling 215 shares during the quarter. Ruggaard & Associates LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 236,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,833,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,374,000 after buying an additional 1,818 shares during the period. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $569,000. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 123,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,568 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PG. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Erste Group Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.00.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. The trade was a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 5.0 %

Shares of PG opened at $163.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $383.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $153.52 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

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.