The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Stake Increased by Canopy Partners LLC

Canopy Partners LLC lifted its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,637 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 578 shares during the period. Canopy Partners LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 17,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 120,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,674,000 after acquiring an additional 22,515 shares in the last quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.8% in the third quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 68,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,919,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 71.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KO. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 4.5 %

NYSE KO opened at $69.87 on Monday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.95. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $300.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $68.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. On average, analysts expect 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 was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

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.