Coca-Cola Hits All-time High

Coca-Cola (KO), a stock I have owned since 1990, closed at its all-time high of $66.21 on April 21. Coca-Cola continues to expand is product line, earnings and free cash flow so its stock price and dividend steadily increase year after year. It is a premier growth stock.

Long-term holders have been rewarded. Since April 10, 1962 the stock with dividends reinvested and adjusted for splits has a 12.72% annualized return. For the same period the S&P 500 annualized return is 7.11%. A $1,000 investment made Coca-Cola in April 1962 is now worth $1,320,000.

And Coca-Cola has increased its annual dividend 60 years in a row making it a Dividend Aristocrat, a handful of stocks that have increased their annual dividend for 25 or more consecutive years. Coca-Cola annual dividend adjusted for splits has increased from $0.001563 in March 1962 to a current $1.76, an annualized increase of 12.42%.

The company split its shares 11 times since its listing in 1919. The most recent spilt was 2 for 1 in 2012. Due to splits one share purchased in 1919 has turned into 9,216 shares.

Jim Cramer of CNBC recently said of Coca-Cola "That’s a great stock to put away." I agree.

Posted April 26, 2022