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

Bridgewater Associates LP cut its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 72.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PG. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 933.3% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 95.3% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 207 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 quarter, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 2.5 %

NYSE:PG traded up $4.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $170.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,207,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,057,471. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $400.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $153.52 and a one year high of $180.43. The business's 50-day moving average is $168.39 and its 200-day moving average is $168.51.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. Procter & Gamble's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.50.

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.