Dividend increase: Procter & Gamble

Article Excerpt

PROCTER & GAMBLE CO. $79 (New York symbol PG; Income-Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 2.6 billion; Market cap: $205.4 billion; Dividend yield: 3.6%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.pg.com) is one of the world’s largest makers of household and personal-care goods. Starting with the May 2018 payment, Procter raised its quarterly dividend by 4.0%. Investors now receive $0.7172 a share, up from $0.6896. The new annual rate of $2.87 yields 3.6%. Procter has paid dividends for 128 years and has increased its payout annually for the past 62. The company probably earned $4.18 a share in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018. That represents a 6.6% increase over 2017. The stock trades at a reasonable 18.9 times that 2018 estimate. Procter & Gamble is a buy. buy…