Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ Takes Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ acquired a new position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,338,000. Procter & Gamble comprises 7.7% of Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 16,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,372,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $163.76 on Thursday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $141.45 and a 12 month high of $169.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $386.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the subject of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.72.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total transaction of $135,517.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,004 shares in the company, valued at $634,634. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total transaction of $135,517.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $634,634. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total transaction of $5,329,711.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,179,061.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 154,544 shares of company stock worth $25,413,051. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.