Saturna Capital Corp Acquires 1,473 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Saturna Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 922,475 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,473 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble comprises about 2.1% of Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $154,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PG. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,010,685,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,538,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619,466 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,596,000 after buying an additional 2,973,757 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,290,573,000 after buying an additional 1,760,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the third quarter valued at about $301,950,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $173.07 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $405.83 billion, a PE ratio of 27.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $167.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.84. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $153.52 and a 1-year high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. The trade was a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.47.

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.