Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Buys 942 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 17.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,272 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 95.3% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $166.60 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $167.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.69. The stock has a market cap of $390.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $153.52 and a 12-month high of $180.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 64.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.47.

About Procter & Gamble

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.