Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Lowers Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lessened its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 91.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 368,453 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,928,244 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $61,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,524,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,061 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619,466 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,244,463,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,290,573,000 after buying an additional 1,760,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,692,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,133,850,000 after buying an additional 312,203 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Erste Group Bank raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.1 %

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $170.61 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $400.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. 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 50 day moving average of $168.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.27. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $153.52 and a twelve month high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

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.