Narrower focus fuels Procter’s dividend

Article Excerpt

Consumer-products-giant Procter & Gamble continues to benefit from its 2014 plan to unload about 100 of its slower-growing products and focus on a more manageable 65 brands. Its strong commitment to improving quality also helps it compete with cheaper generic brands and drive its earnings higher. That will let it keep raising your dividend. PROCTER & GAMBLE CO. $179 is a buy. The stock (New York symbol PG; Income-Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 2.4 billion; Market cap: $429.6 billion; Dividend yield: 2.3%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.pg.com) is one of the world’s largest makers of household and personal-care goods. With the May 2024 payment, Procter raised your quarterly dividend by 7.0%, to $1.0065 a share from $0.9407. The new annual rate of $4.03 yields 2.3%. Procter has paid shareholder dividends for 134 years and has increased its payout annually for the past 68 years. Procter has five main business lines: fabric and home-care products such as Tide laundry detergent (35% of sales in the latest quarter,…