The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Stock Position Boosted by Congress Wealth Management LLC DE

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,287,604 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 160,757 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola comprises 1.1% of Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $80,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,680,205,000 after acquiring an additional 11,206,995 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $500,192,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,885,000 after acquiring an additional 4,013,996 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on KO. Barclays boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two research 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $68.58 on Monday. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The company has a market capitalization of $295.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $67.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

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%. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

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.