Baillie Gifford & Co. Trims Stock Holdings in Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG

Baillie Gifford & Co. decreased its stake in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 896,945 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,345 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $128,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PG. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.8% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 594,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,409,000 after acquiring an additional 21,825 shares during the period. Triodos Investment Management BV raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.3% during the third quarter. Triodos Investment Management BV now owns 255,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,195,000 after acquiring an additional 17,400 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 234,630,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,050,992,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419,322 shares during the period. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 820.6% during the third quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 14,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,308,000 after acquiring an additional 13,195 shares during the period. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 32.7% during the third quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. now owns 150,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,173,000 after acquiring an additional 37,198 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 95,903 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.15, for a total transaction of $14,495,738.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 182,607 shares in the company, valued at $27,601,048.05. This trade represents a 34.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Jon R. Moeller sold 162,232 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.45, for a total transaction of $26,354,588.40. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 319,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,884,093.25. This trade represents a 33.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 348,618 shares of company stock valued at $55,462,643 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of PG stock opened at $143.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $333.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.28, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.41. Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $137.62 and a 52 week high of $171.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $149.15.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 32.21%. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting Procter & Gamble

Here are the key news stories impacting Procter & Gamble this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor rotation into reliable, dividend-bearing consumer names could support PG as investors move away from more volatile AI/tech bets. The “Great Rotation” Out of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks Has Arrived. Here’s What Smart Money Is Buying Instead.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management shakeups and weakness at peer Conagra may influence sentiment across packaged-foods stocks but are not specific to PG’s fundamentals; Conagra named John Brase as CEO (effective June 1) and its shares fell on the news. Conagra Brands appoints former JM Smucker exec John Brase as CEO Conagra stock falls after the company names new CEO Conagra Hires John Brase to Replace Sean Connolly as President, CEO Slim Jim Maker Conagra Replacing CEO After 60% Stock Slide
• Negative Sentiment: Reporting notes Texas consumer-product probes now include Procter & Gamble, raising short-term regulatory and reputational risk headlines that can pressure the stock. Lululemon Stock Falls After Texas Opens PFAS Investigation Into Apparel
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America cut its price target on PG to $167, a visible analyst move that often prompts selling and weighs on intraday sentiment. Bank of America Cuts Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Price Target to $167.00
• Negative Sentiment: MarketWatch highlighted PG underperforming peers on Monday, reinforcing the narrative of near-term relative weakness in the stock. Procter & Gamble Co. stock underperforms Monday when compared to competitors
• Negative Sentiment: Smaller analyst actions are already showing market impact: coverage noted PG trading down after a recent analyst downgrade. Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Down 1% Following Analyst Downgrade

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on PG. UBS Group decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Erste Group Bank cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $164.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $171.00 to $167.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays set a $155.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.89.

Procter & Gamble Profile

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world’s largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G’s product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.