Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. Grows Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,517 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Retirement Group LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KO. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO opened at $58.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $59.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.53. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $64.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $253.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.75, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The company had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 78.23%.

About Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.