The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Acquired by Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC

Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,442 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. West Michigan Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 11,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $710,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Maripau Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $234,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $865,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $5,758,000. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 159,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,923,000 after acquiring an additional 5,807 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO opened at $71.20 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 fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The company has a market cap of $306.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.82, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $64.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced 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%. On average, 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 business 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

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.