FineMark National Bank & Trust Grows Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

FineMark National Bank & Trust raised its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 212,621 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,810 shares during the quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $13,238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 32,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,333,000 after acquiring an additional 8,837 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.8% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 193,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,937,000 after purchasing an additional 3,347 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 26,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,901,000 after buying an additional 4,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 39.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,765,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,921,241 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $68.97 on Tuesday. 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 $296.81 billion, a PE ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $67.15 and its 200-day moving average is $66.42.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KO. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

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.