Legal & General Group Plc Sells 4,428,898 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 21.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,232,038 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,428,898 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble comprises approximately 0.7% of Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.69% of Procter & Gamble worth $2,721,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 933.3% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 95.3% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $163.73 on Monday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $153.52 and a one year high of $180.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $169.17 and its 200 day moving average is $169.12. 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 0.43. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 64.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,274.66. This trade represents a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on PG. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Erste Group Bank raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler lowered 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, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.00.

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.