5 Best Dividend Paying Stocks to Buy Now

4. The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 61
Dividend Yield as of August 2: 2.95% 

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) ranks 4th on the list of 10 best dividend-paying stocks to buy now. The Georgia-based multinational beverage company has been rewarding its investors with dividends since 1964. The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) has over 200 brands being distributed in over 200 countries. The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.95%. 

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) has soared 21% in the last twelve months. Truist analyst Bill Chappell raised The Coca-Cola Company’s (NYSE: KO) price target to $65 per share from $60 per share and kept its Buy rating on the stock. The analyst said in his note that the company’s long-term focus on profitability will be “rewarded.”

The company has a market cap of $245.53 billion. In the second quarter of 2021, The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) reported an EPS of $0.68, beating estimates of $0.55. The company’s second-quarter revenue came in at $10.1 billion, beating revenue estimates of $9.25 billion. Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) increased 3% year to date.

At the end of the first quarter of 2021, 42 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $24.9 billion in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), down from 62 hedge funds in the previous quarter holding stakes worth $24.6 billion.