Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Raises Stake in Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its stake in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 276,433 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,727 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $42,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 234,630,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,050,992,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419,322 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,099,644,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 22,850,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,510,955,000 after purchasing an additional 1,752,481 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,385,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,770,035,000 after purchasing an additional 294,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 16,556,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,543,839,000 after purchasing an additional 189,968 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 15,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.28, for a total transaction of $2,461,625.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 44,735 shares in the company, valued at $7,259,595.80. This represents a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jon R. Moeller sold 162,232 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.45, for a total value of $26,354,588.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 319,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,884,093.25. This trade represents a 33.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 348,618 shares of company stock valued at $55,462,643 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Erste Group Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $177.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.33.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG opened at $150.57 on Monday. Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $137.62 and a 1 year high of $174.80. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $153.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $349.91 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 32.21%. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd were issued a $1.0568 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.67%.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world’s largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G’s product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.