The board of directors of
The Coca-Cola Company
(
KO
) recently announced a 10% increase in the cola giant's annual
dividend. With this, the company has increased its dividend for
51 consecutive years.
The quarterly dividend was increased from 25.5 cents to 28
cents per common share, equivalent to an annual dividend of $1.12
per share, up from $1.02 per share in 2012. The new dividend will
yield 3.0% annually. The first quarterly payout will be on Apr 1,
2013, to shareowners of record as of Mar 15, 2013.
Coca Cola boasts a solid cash position, which is being used to
return value to shareholders through higher dividends and regular
buybacks. In 2012, the company paid $4.6 billion in dividends and
$4.5 billion in share repurchases, thus returning $9.1 billion to
shareholders.
In addition, the company announced some management changes
including the appointment of Ahmet C. Bozer and Steven A.
Cahillane as Executive Vice Presidents of the company. While
Bozer currently serves as president of the International segment,
Cahillane holds the same position at the Americas segment.
Rival
PepsiCo, Inc.
(
PEP
) also announced a dividend increase recently at the fourth
quarter conference call on Feb 14, 2013. The company increased
its annual dividend rate by 5.6% to $2.27 per share from $2.15
per share. The increased dividend will be first paid in June this
year.
Coca-Cola currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). The
company reported mixed fourth quarter results on Feb 12, 2013.
While the maker of popular beverages like Coke, Thums Up and
Sprite beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings by a penny,
it marginally missed the revenue estimate.
PepsiCo, on the other hand, reported impressive fourth quarter
results beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate for both revenue and
earnings. Moreover, the company provided an impressive outlook
for 2013, which was in line with long-term targets. PepsiCo also
carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some of Coca-Cola's bottling companies are currently doing
well and have a bright outlook. These include
Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company S.A
(
CCH
) - Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy)and
Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc.
(
CCE
) - Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
COCA-COLA ENTRP (CCE): Free Stock Analysis
Report
COCA COLA HELNC (CCH): Free Stock Analysis
Report
COCA COLA CO (KO): Free Stock Analysis Report
PEPSICO INC (PEP): Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment
Research