Westpac Banking Corp Sells 16,337 Shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG

Westpac Banking Corp cut its position in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,047 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,337 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $5,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1,000.0% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 65.1% during the fourth quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1,315.4% in the 4th quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

PG stock opened at $145.02 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $147.41 and a 200-day moving average of $148.42. The firm has a market cap of $337.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.39. Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $137.62 and a 12-month high of $167.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.38 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 31.36% and a net margin of 18.44%.The business’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.890-7.110 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th were issued a dividend of $1.0885 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. This represents a $4.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 65.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 2,238 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.79, for a total value of $321,802.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 26,989 shares in the company, valued at $3,880,748.31. This trade represents a 7.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 4,030 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.79, for a total transaction of $579,473.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 187,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,888,873.79. This represents a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 6,627 shares of company stock worth $953,417 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on PG. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Argus cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $149.00 price target (down from $182.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.19.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world’s largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G’s product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.