Top brands support this solid dividend: Procter & Gamble

Article Excerpt

We often remind our readers of the importance of brands to consumer companies like Procter & Gamble. Strong demand for its hygiene and cleaning products due to COVID-19 continues to fuel its earnings—and your dividend. PROCTER & GAMBLE CO. $128 is a buy. The stock (New York symbol PG; Income-Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 2.5 billion; Market cap: $320.0 billion; Dividend yield: 2.5%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.pg.com) gives you a stake in one of the world’s largest makers of household and personal-care goods. The company has five main business lines: fabric and home-care products such as Tide laundry detergent (33% of fiscal 2020 sales, 31% of earnings); baby, feminine and family-care goods, including Pampers diapers (26%, 26%); beauty items such as Head and Shoulders shampoo (19%, 21%); health-care items such as Crest toothpaste (13%, 12%); and grooming products, including Gillette razors (9%, 10%). Walmart accounts for 15% of overall sales. In May 2020, the company rewarded investors with a 6% boost in the quarterly dividend—its…