Topic: How To Invest

Dividend Advisor Hotline – Friday, April 17, 2020

Article Excerpt

PROCTER & GAMBLE CO., $124.69, New York symbol PG, is a buy. The stock lets investors tap one of the world’s largest makers of household and personal-care goods. Major brands include Tide (laundry detergent), Pampers (diapers), Gillette (razors), Crest (toothpaste) and Vicks (cold remedies). Starting with the May 2020 payment, the company will raise its quarterly dividend by 6.0%, to $0.7907 from $0.7459. The new annual rate of $3.16 yields 2.5%. Procter has paid dividends for 130 years and increased its payout annually for the past 64. Meantime, the COVID-19 pandemic is prompting consumers to stock up on laundry detergent, dishwashing soap and cold medicines. In its fiscal 2020 third quarter, ended March 31, 2020, Procter’s earnings improved 9.6%, to $3.06 billion from $2.79 billion a year earlier. Per-share earnings rose 10.4%, to $1.17 from $1.06, on more shares outstanding. Those figures exclude unusual items, mainly costs related to an ongoing cost-saving plan. On that basis, the latest earnings topped the consensus estimate of $1.13…