The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Acquired by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 452,582 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,084 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola accounts for approximately 0.5% of Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $28,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 three months. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of KO opened at $70.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $301.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $66.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

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.