31,277 Shares in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Bought by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 31,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,861,000. Coca-Cola accounts for about 0.5% of GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,501,789,000 after buying an additional 2,464,618 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,514,234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040,664 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,845,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,446,822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963,963 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,503,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 13,804,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949,500 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.09.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $60.64. 13,687,837 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,898,879. The company has a market cap of $261.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.59. 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 has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.67. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $51.55 and a fifty-two week high of $64.99.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Profile

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.