The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Stock Position Increased by HighPoint Advisor Group LLC

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,058 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,418 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Rice Partnership LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,397,000 after buying an additional 6,793 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 87.7% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 8,499 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted 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 worth $2,271,885,000 after buying an additional 4,013,996 shares during the period. Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $1,582,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 222.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 192,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,814,000 after acquiring an additional 132,701 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $3,941,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,533,008.09. This represents a 18.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their position. 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 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:KO opened at $70.36 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $67.77 and its 200-day moving average is $66.38. The firm has a market cap of $302.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.51 dividend. 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 2.90%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KO. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 research 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.