McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc. Makes New Investment in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc. bought a new position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG – Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000. Procter & Gamble accounts for 0.3% of McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PG. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 22.6% during the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 16,567,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,382,268,000 after acquiring an additional 3,054,844 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 224,570,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,351,991,000 after purchasing an additional 2,197,165 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 161,904,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,440,487,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811,085 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 108.5% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,339,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 431.3% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,542,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,779,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252,400 shares in the last quarter. 62.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $149.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 20th. UBS Group raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.67.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE PG opened at $142.93 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $141.73 and a 200-day moving average of $140.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $337.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.40. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $122.18 and a 52-week high of $164.90.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 19th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.75 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.79% and a return on equity of 32.03%. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 5.84 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 20th were paid a $0.9133 dividend. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 19th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 435 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.82, for a total value of $61,691.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,537,328.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 2,151 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.34, for a total value of $295,418.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,141,570.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.82, for a total transaction of $61,691.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,537,328.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,766 shares of company stock worth $656,511 in the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & 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.