Simmons Bank Cuts Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Simmons Bank lessened its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,635 shares of the company’s stock after selling 149 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $8,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Centric Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 8,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after buying an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,075,000 after acquiring an additional 752 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,209,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,336,552,000 after acquiring an additional 206,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Financial Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 11,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,660,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of PG traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $165.13. 2,598,166 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,846,617. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $160.23 and its 200-day moving average is $154.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $141.45 and a fifty-two week high of $166.37. The company has a market cap of $389.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Truist Financial raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 21,388 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.98, for a total transaction of $3,528,592.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,854 shares in the company, valued at $6,080,172.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 21,388 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.98, for a total value of $3,528,592.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,854 shares in the company, valued at $6,080,172.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,859 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $5,253,549.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,739 shares in the company, valued at $1,605,961.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,112 shares of company stock worth $22,841,321. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.