Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Purchases Shares of 205,418 The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 205,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,438,000. Procter & Gamble accounts for about 0.9% of Generali Asset Management SPA SGR’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PG. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,010,685,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,538,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619,466 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973,757 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,290,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,214 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth approximately $301,950,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.47.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE:PG opened at $169.70 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $153.52 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.81. The company has a market cap of $397.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.02, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Procter & Gamble Profile

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.