The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,518 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,160 shares during the period. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bell Bank increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Bell Bank now owns 26,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares during the period. LifeSteps Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. now owns 13,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $855,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Greystone Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,748,000. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 4,527 shares during the period. Finally, Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,447,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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. Barclays upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.82.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $71.37 on Friday. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.44. The company has a market capitalization of $307.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 78.54%.

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.