The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.51

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 20th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.51 per share on Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49.

Coca-Cola has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.9% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 63 consecutive years. Coca-Cola has a dividend payout ratio of 60.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Coca-Cola to earn $3.19 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.94 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 60.8%.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.9 %

KO opened at $71.37 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. Coca-Cola has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.44. The company has a market capitalization of $307.46 billion, a PE ratio of 28.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Analysts forecast that Coca-Cola will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KO shares. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.82.

About Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.