Westpac Banking Corp Buys 1,768 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Westpac Banking Corp boosted its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,241 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,768 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $4,399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 321.7% in the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 95.3% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 207 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the topic of several research reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler lowered 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. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $182.00.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG stock traded up $2.67 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $172.17. 9,389,328 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,909,108. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.29. 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 Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $153.52 and a 1-year high of $180.43. The company has a market cap of $403.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.42, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 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 last year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

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.