Bell Bank Trims Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Bell Bank trimmed its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,964 shares of the company’s stock after selling 158 shares during the quarter. Bell Bank’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 27,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,642,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 236,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,833,000 after acquiring an additional 2,179 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,374,000 after acquiring an additional 1,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natural Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,121,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on PG. Erste Group Bank downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.86.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE:PG opened at $160.79 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $163.81 and its 200 day moving average is $166.51. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $156.58 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $376.99 billion, a PE ratio of 25.60, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The company had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a $1.0568 dividend. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $1,669,208.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 25,182 shares in the company, valued at $3,995,627.94. This trade represents a 29.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value of $161,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

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.