Alerus Financial NA Acquires 19,223 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Alerus Financial NA boosted its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 81.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,834 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,223 shares during the quarter. Alerus Financial NA’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $7,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,524,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,061 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,538,327,000 after buying an additional 3,619,466 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at $5,244,463,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,290,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,214 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,692,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,133,850,000 after acquiring an additional 312,203 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.4 %

PG stock opened at $168.85 on Friday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $153.52 and a twelve month high of $180.43. The company has a market cap of $395.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $168.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.46.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. This trade represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PG shares. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.82.

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.