Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Raises Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,719,907 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,015 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $107,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. United Bank grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 65.4% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 80,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,813,000 after purchasing an additional 31,979 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 47,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,425,000 after purchasing an additional 4,613 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 94,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,808,000 after purchasing an additional 7,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO opened at $69.59 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $299.29 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.63.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

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.