Moran Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Moran Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 41,850 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,684 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO opened at $71.00 on Wednesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The stock has a market cap of $305.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KO. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 288,146 shares of company stock valued at $20,456,524 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.