The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) is Ostrum Asset Management's Largest Position

Ostrum Asset Management lowered its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 618,732 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,480 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble makes up about 9.0% of Ostrum Asset Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Ostrum Asset Management's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $103,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,524,976,000 after buying an additional 1,592,061 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,472,195 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,457,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267,419 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $5,244,463,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,197,996 shares of the company's stock worth $3,386,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 312,203 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Seven investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

NYSE PG traded down $7.36 on Thursday, reaching $158.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,855,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,155,443. The firm's 50 day moving average is $168.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.43. The stock has a market cap of $371.36 billion, a PE ratio of 25.22, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. 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 Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $156.58 and a twelve month high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.03). Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.0568 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.20%.

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.