Procter & Gamble Just Issued Its Smallest Dividend Hike in a Generation

Procter & Gamble Inc (NYSE:PG) accomplished a feat few other companies do last week. The consumer-products company raised its dividend for the 60th year in a row, a record of consistency only matched by 16 other companies considered Dividend Kings -- companies that have raised their dividends annually for 50 years in a row or more. There's a problem, though. The owner of brands like Tide and Gillette lifted its quarterly dividend just 1% this year, from $0.6629 to $0.6695. An increase like that is hardly worth it from an investor perspective as it doesn't even keep up with inflation.

As you can see, long-term P&G investors have been rewarded handsomely through dividend hikes in the 1990s and 2000s. P&G's dividend now pays more than 10 times what it did in 1990. However, in recent years, those payout increases have dramatically slowed. With a dividend yield of 3.2%, P&G isn't a bad option for investors looking for a steady and sizable payout; but if dividend growth is a factor, there are better options: Home Depot (NYSE:HD), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and 3M Company (NYSE:MMM).

Source: Motley Fool

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