L.K. Benson & Company P.C. Makes New $295,000 Investment in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

L.K. Benson & Company P.C. acquired a new stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on PG. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective 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 restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 1.2 %

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $167.66 on Wednesday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $153.52 and a one year high of $180.43. The stock has a market cap of $393.14 billion, a PE ratio of 26.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $167.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.78.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.01%.

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.