Cardinal Capital Management Increases Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Cardinal Capital Management increased its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 81,751 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares during the quarter. Cardinal Capital Management’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exeter Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 27,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,637,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 31.0% in the first quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 50,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,067,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778 shares during the period. Stonebridge Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the first quarter. Stonebridge Capital Management Inc. now owns 91,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,612,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 14.0% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 38,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,364,000 after buying an additional 4,754 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of KO traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $63.91. 8,479,066 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,091,237. The firm has a market cap of $275.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $64.36.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly 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. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total value of $5,042,744.94. Following the sale, the insider now owns 218,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,644,979.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total value of $5,042,744.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,644,979.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 223,665 shares of company stock valued at $13,995,465. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Argus upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.83.

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.