Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp Acquires New Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Rice Partnership LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,397,000 after purchasing an additional 6,793 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 87.7% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 8,499 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after acquiring an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $1,582,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 222.9% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 192,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,814,000 after purchasing an additional 132,701 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock opened at $70.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The stock has a market cap of $304.70 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $67.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.46.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on KO shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Company 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.