McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc. Makes New $218,000 Investment in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE PG traded up $1.06 on Tuesday, reaching $168.56. The company had a trading volume of 5,103,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,491,888. The firm has a market capitalization of $397.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $141.45 and a 1-year high of $168.97. The company’s fifty day moving average is $163.63 and its 200-day moving average is $157.64.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Argus boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total transaction of $5,329,711.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total transaction of $5,329,711.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total transaction of $135,517.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $634,634. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 154,544 shares of company stock valued at $25,413,051 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Procter & Gamble

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.