It's no secret that Warren Buffett likes dividend stocks. His Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A -0.20%) (BRK.B -0.11%) portfolio is chock-full of them. There's another multibillionaire who hasn't been known to be such a big fan of dividend stocks, though.
Elon Musk is famous for his investments in Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter, among other companies. He has also been a supporter of several cryptocurrencies in the past. But he hasn't said much about dividend stocks. However, there's one Buffett dividend stock that recently grabbed Musk's attention.
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An attention-grabbing number
Buffett's annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders is usually analyzed and dissected by many investors. That's understandable since it typically contains timeless investing wisdom.
Many readers of Buffett's annual letter share the parts that especially stand out to them on social media platforms. A Twitter user calling himself "Dividend Hero" tweeted a couple of weeks ago that Berkshire Hathaway received $704 million in dividends last year from Coca-Cola (KO -0.11%).
That tweet caught Musk's eye, almost certainly because of the attention-grabbing dollar figure. It even prompted Musk to jokingly reply, "Berkshire Hathaway high on Coke." Whether or not one appreciates Musk's humor, he was right in the sense that Buffett and the Berkshire team really like Coca-Cola stock.
Berkshire actually did make $704 million in dividends from Coca-Cola alone last year. The conglomerate owns 400 million shares of Coke. In 2022, Coca-Cola's quarterly dividend per share was $0.44. Multiplying the number of shares times this dividend times four dividends in the year totals $704 million.
Why Buffett likes this dividend stock so much
Coca-Cola ranks as the fifth-largest holding in Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio. Berkshire has owned those 400 million shares since 1994. And it began buying the stock seven years before then.
Over the last five years, Coke hasn't delivered an overly impressive performance. Its share-price appreciation didn't even keep up with the S&P 500's growth. With dividends included, Coca-Cola beat the S&P, but not by much.
So why does Buffett still like this dividend stock so much? For one thing, consider that Berkshire's total cost basis to buy Coca-Cola shares was around $1.3 billion. Berkshire will make more than that amount in dividends alone between 2022 and 2023. Those dividends will keep on flowing and almost certainly growing. Coca-Cola recently boosted its dividend payout for this year. It's a Dividend King, with 61 consecutive years of dividend increases.
Buffett even mentioned Coca-Cola first in his latest letter to shareholders in a section discussing the "secret sauce" to Berkshire's success. He noted, "Over time, it takes just a few winners to work wonders." The legendary investor obviously views Coke as one of those wonder-working winners.
Is Coca-Cola stock a good pick now?
Does all of this mean that Coca-Cola stock is a good pick now? Not necessarily.
There are several reasons for income investors to love Coca-Cola's dividend. Coke's dividend yield currently tops 3%. We've already mentioned the company's stellar track record of dividend increases. Coca-Cola also has delivered consistent long-term earnings growth.
But I think growth-oriented investors will find better opportunities than Coca-Cola. The main reason the stock's total return has outperformed the S&P 500 in recent years is because of the economic uncertainty that began to weigh on the market last year. Over the long run, I suspect that Coca-Cola will lag behind the S&P 500.
As much as Buffett likes Coca-Cola, you might have noticed that he hasn't added a single share in nearly three decades. Buffett isn't buying this dividend stock right now. I doubt that Musk is, either.
