The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Bought by Argent Advisors Inc.

Argent Advisors Inc. raised its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,539 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 879 shares during the period. Coca-Cola comprises 1.3% of Argent Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $4,617,400,000 after acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after acquiring an additional 11,206,995 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $500,192,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,885,000 after acquiring an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth about $269,382,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KO. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $70.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $66.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.53. The stock has a market cap of $301.70 billion, a PE ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. 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.