Peltz wins seat on Procter’s board

Article Excerpt

PROCTER & GAMBLE CO. $91 (New York symbol PG; Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 2.6 billion; Market cap: $236.6 billion; Takeover Target Rating: Lowest; Dividend yield: 3.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pg.com) is one of the world’s largest makers of household and personal-care goods. Activist investor Nelson Peltz owns about 1% of Procter through his firm Trian Partners. At Procter’s recent annual meeting, shareholders narrowly voted down a proposal to elect Peltz as a board director. However, due to the close count, Procter has now placed him on the board. Peltz will continue to pressure the company to examine new ways to improve shareholder value. That includes hiring more executives from outside of the company and simplifying its management structure. He feels that would spur the development of new products. It could also help Procter respond more quickly to changing consumer preferences, particularly in China and other developing markets. Procter & Gamble is still a buy. buy…