Ellis Investment Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Ellis Investment Partners LLC decreased its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,575 shares of the company’s stock after selling 665 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Wyrmwood Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 636.6% in the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at about $50,000. CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 206.6% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $155.33 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.57. The company has a market capitalization of $365.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.44. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $141.45 and a 1 year high of $163.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $21.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.48 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.60% and a return on equity of 34.04%. The business’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total transaction of $15,618,683.28. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 163,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,097,637.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total transaction of $11,412,111.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,160.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total transaction of $15,618,683.28. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 163,428 shares in the company, valued at $25,097,637.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 279,063 shares of company stock valued at $43,187,745 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.53.

Procter & Gamble Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.