Legal & General Group Plc Reduces Holdings in Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,099,432 shares of the company’s stock after selling 456,629 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for approximately 0.5% of Legal & General Group Plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $2,307,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1,000.0% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 65.1% during the 4th quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Saranac Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 5,549 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.29, for a total value of $917,194.21. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $170,083.41. This trade represents a 84.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG opened at $144.50 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $144.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.73. Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $137.62 and a 1 year high of $170.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $336.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13, a P/E/G ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 32.00%. The business had revenue of $21.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Procter & Gamble has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.830-7.090 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 24th were given a $1.0885 dividend. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 63.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on PG. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.06.

Procter & Gamble Profile

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.