Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 1,161,762 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Bridgewater Associates LP lowered its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 72.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 439,606 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,161,762 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $73,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,812,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Tevis Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 11,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Alhambra Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 5,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $970,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of PG opened at $169.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $396.54 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $153.52 and a 52-week high of $180.43.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PG. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler decreased 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. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.50.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. The trade was a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.