Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Grows Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,604 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 213.3% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on KO shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 446,577 shares of company stock valued at $27,385,816 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $62.93 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $60.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.80. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $51.55 and a fifty-two week high of $63.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $271.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

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.