Coca-Cola increases quarterly dividend to $0.485

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) said on Thursday that its Board of Directors had authorized a quarterly dividend of $0.485 per common share.

The latter represented about 5% increase compared to the previous dividend of $0.46.

The announced quarterly dividend equals an annual dividend of $1.94 per common share, or an increase from $1.84 per share in 2023.

The dividend will be paid on April 1st to shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 15th 2024, the company said.

Last year, the beverage company returned $8 billion in dividends to its shareholders. This brought the total amount of dividends paid to shareholders since January 1st 2010 to $84.7 billion.

Stock Performance

The shares of Coca-Cola Company (KO) closed 0.19% ($0.11) higher at $59.40 in New York on Thursday, as they reversed a small loss from the previous market session.

The beverage maker’s total market cap now stands at $255.86 billion.

The shares of Coca-Cola Company (KO) went down 7.36% in 2023, compared with a 24.23% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

The beverage company’s shares have risen 0.80% so far this year.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to TipRanks, at least 10 out of 14 surveyed investment analysts had rated Coca-Cola Company’s stock as “Buy”, while 4 – as “Hold”. The median price target on the stock stands at $65.79, which translates into a 10.76% upside compared to the closing price on Thursday.

The high point of the analyst forecast range stands at $70.00.