P&G Hits New Highs As It Slims Down

Bigger isn't necessarily better. Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) is slashing its vast product line by more than half to focus on its core brands. Since August, the company has been trying to streamline its portfolio by shedding more than 100 items globally. It plans to focus on 70 to 80 core brands that make up 95% of current profit and 90% of sales. To that end, Procter & Gamble in late October announced plans to drop Duracell and exit the battery business. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKB) snapped up Duracell last month by swapping its P&G shares for the brand.

P&G rose 2% on Nov. 28 on reports it's working with Goldman Sachs to explore a possible sale of its Wella hair care unit, worth an estimated $7 billion. Among other moves this year, the consumer products giant in April sold its Asian and North American pet food business to privately held Mars Inc. for nearly $3 billion. In September it reached an agreement to divest its European pet food business to Spectrum Brand Holdings (NYSE:SPB). Procter & Gamble pays a dividend of 64.36 cents per share, or $2.57 for the full year. That works out to a 2.9% yield, above the 1.90% average of the S&P 500.

Source: Investor's Business Daily

Related Articles:
- 6 High-Yielding Mega-Cap Stocks
- Dividend Investors Should Focus On Stocks, Not The Market
- The Secret Ingredient of Dividend Growth Stocks
- Stocks Providing Positive Feedback With Increased Dividends
- Dividend Growth Stocks With A Defined-Benefit Pension