jacks up its dividend 10%

Procter & Gamble (P&G) has ordered a dividend hike of 10%, taking dividends from $0.40 per share to $0.44. Traditionally P&G has a consistent record of upping its quarterly dividends, but the move remains a surprise given that many other companies are slashing or even suspending dividends to preserve cash. So why such abundant generosity to investors? Partly the reason is corporate culture, say market insiders. P&G won’t want to deviate from a strong track record of consistently rising dividends, despite the ongong commercial stress. The dividend optimism is also another way for P&G to declare confidence in itself and reassure long term investors – and P&G has many of these, especially Mom-and-Pop retail US-based investors – about the long haul. Meanwhile, bargain hunters are likely to circle: P&G remains close to its lowest share valuation for several years. Currently P&G shares trade at $48; its shares sold for more than $70 last September.

Visto su COSMETICS International