Motiv8 Investments LLC Acquires 5,045 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Motiv8 Investments LLC grew its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 33.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,013 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,045 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up about 0.9% of Motiv8 Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Motiv8 Investments LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KO. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after buying an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,990,407,000 after buying an additional 1,609,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 16,021,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $997,480,000 after buying an additional 351,462 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $70.80 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $304.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $64.19 and a 200 day moving average of $66.47.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 presently 82.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.82.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other 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 transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.