PROCTER & GAMBLE CO. $79 - New York symbol PG

PROCTER & GAMBLE CO. $79 (New York symbol PG; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 2.7 billion; Market cap: $213.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.7; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pg.com) is selling most of its pet food business to privately held Mars Inc. The sale will let Procter focus on its more-profitable household and personal care products.

The company will receive $2.9 billion when the deal closes in the next few months. To put that in context, Procter earned $2.6 billion, or $0.90 a share, in the quarter ended March 31, 2014. The company will likely use the cash to buy back more shares.

Procter & Gamble is a buy.

A professional investment analyst for more than 30 years, Pat has developed a stock-selection technique that has proven reliable in both bull and bear markets. His proprietary ValuVesting System™ focuses on stocks that provide exceptional quality at relatively low prices. Many savvy investors and industry leaders consider it the most powerful stock-picking method ever created.