The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Acquired by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,268,673 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 47,700 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble makes up about 0.7% of Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.10% of Procter & Gamble worth $380,343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company's stock worth $38,524,976,000 after buying an additional 1,592,061 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% during 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 during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,244,463,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in 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 period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.2 %

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $167.76 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $393.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $168.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.45. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $156.69 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $1.0568 dividend. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.50.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 22,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,829,817.68. The trade was a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.

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