Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. Grows Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,488 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,414 shares during the quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 565,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,214,000 after acquiring an additional 34,118 shares during the period. United Bank raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. United Bank now owns 84,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,260,000 after purchasing an additional 3,589 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 644,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,751,000 after purchasing an additional 3,779 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 11,702,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $728,584,000 after purchasing an additional 321,276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,451,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,394,000 after buying an additional 269,414 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $70.36 on Monday. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53. 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 company has a market cap of $302.80 billion, a PE ratio of 28.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50 day moving average is $67.77 and its 200 day moving average is $66.38.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of several recent research 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.