Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Lowers Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. cut its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,576 shares of the company’s stock after selling 867 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble makes up about 1.6% of Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $2,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 972.0% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% during the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.11.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $173.84 on Friday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $153.52 and a 12 month high of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $407.63 billion, a PE ratio of 27.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.