Cascade Financial Partners LLC Buys 1,001 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Cascade Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,529 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Cascade Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,680,205,000 after buying an additional 11,206,995 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $500,192,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in 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. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at about $269,382,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $3,941,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,533,008.09. This trade represents a 18.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 288,146 shares of company stock worth $20,456,524. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $71.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $305.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50 day moving average is $65.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.58. 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.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Analysts expect 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. Shareholders 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 represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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. Barclays increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on 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 increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

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.