Clare Market Investments LLC Invests $1.76 Million in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Clare Market Investments LLC purchased a new position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 28,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,761,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.5 %

Coca-Cola stock opened at $71.52 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $65.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.56. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The firm has a market cap of $307.60 billion, a PE ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by 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.