Advisors Capital Management LLC Acquires 8,633 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 342,182 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,633 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $21,304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 17,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the third quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 182,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,116,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 21.4% during the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 11,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $842,000 after acquiring an additional 2,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthquest Corp acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at approximately $412,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.8 %

KO opened at $71.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $307.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.95. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $69.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

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.