Strategic Financial Services Inc. Buys 1,605 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Strategic Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 30.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,849 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,605 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sandy Spring Bank raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 57,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,580,000 after buying an additional 3,938 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,909,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,888,000 after buying an additional 4,862 shares in the last quarter. L.K. Benson & Company P.C. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $244,000. First Financial Bankshares Inc increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 965,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,108,000 after purchasing an additional 96,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $4,809,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a 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 note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $69.33 on Thursday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $66.69 and a 200-day moving average of $66.53. The company has a market cap of $298.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

About Coca-Cola

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.