What a KO!?!?!? Go long on KO-The Coke Cola Company

My selection this quarter is KO- The Coke Cola Company. I recommend we buy KO as a long term investment. The movement on it has been between $35-$40 over the past. I do not think we should simply buy KO because it is the largest stock in Warren Buffett's portfolio or Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the second largest share holder. Lets look at the numbers- Coca-Cola’s revenue was about flat in the third quarter of 2012 compared to the same period in the previous year. Higher revenue in North America was partially offset by weaker performance in Europe and a slight decline in the Pacific geography. Margins were up slightly, but not by much and so net income showed a slight increase as well. Overall in the first nine months of the year earnings per share came in at $1.56 as opposed to $1.49 a year earlier. With these recent results and a market cap of $166 billion, The Coca-Cola Company trades at 19 times trailing earnings. It’s certainly the case that the company still has its moat and its brand name, but even with those advantages it doesn’t stand out as a cheap stock at that pricing. Analyst expectations are for slight growth in 2013, and these figures imply a P/E of 17. Coca-Cola is also notable as a common example of a defensive, consumer staple stock, and its beta is a fairly low 0.4. Pepsi is often considered the closest peer in terms of brand, but much of its product line includes snacks and other foods. Its earnings multiples are very similar to Coca-Cola’s: 19 times trailing earnings, 16 times consensus for 2013. However, Pepsi actually experienced declines in revenue and earnings in its most recent quarterly report compared to the same period in the previous year. Here is a great article to review. Many great charts and includes Apple too. http://beta.fool.com/ruperthargreav/2013/01/09/would-warren-buffett-buy-apple/19395/ Donald Yacktman and Warren both own KO. Here is another great article. http://www.forbes.com/sites/gurufocus/2013/01/03/the-top-stocks-warren-buffett-and-donald-yacktman-both-own/ Many of the renown investors have invested in some of the same stocks and KO is one of them. We have an opportunity to invest in a company they have found value in and has continued to reward it's investors. We should buy KO and hold as a long term position.