Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. Buys 3,150 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,662 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,150 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for approximately 3.5% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $4,640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc now owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,053,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $2,423,000. Abbrea Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC now owns 55,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,146,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 66.3% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 26,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,836,000 after acquiring an additional 10,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 703.9% during the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 52,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,682,000 after acquiring an additional 45,902 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Thursday, hitting $162.55. The company had a trading volume of 7,093,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,973,202. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $159.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $383.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.44. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $141.45 and a 52 week high of $164.32.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 65.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Truist Financial raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.76.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,788. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,788. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 100,865 shares of company stock valued at $16,029,280. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.