The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Holdings Boosted by Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. boosted its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,609 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 13,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.0% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares in the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth approximately $224,000. Finally, Custom Index Systems LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth approximately $204,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.82.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $70.58 on Tuesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $304.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.42.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. 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. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.