Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP Has $2.22 Million Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP lowered its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,165 shares of the company’s stock after selling 207 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises about 2.9% of Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $2,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the first quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. AMI Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.2% during the first quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $529,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.7% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 18,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,842,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the first quarter worth $3,073,000. Finally, Wsfs Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 12.0% in the first quarter. Wsfs Capital Management LLC now owns 4,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $650,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $155.45. 5,753,652 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,864,547. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $159.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.70. The company has a market cap of $365.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.44. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $141.45 and a 12-month high of $163.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 62.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on PG. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.53.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

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

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.