Tang Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Tang Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 59.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,714 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,341 shares during the quarter. Tang Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,727,131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,811,756 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after buying an additional 6,118,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $72.01 on Friday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $70.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.77. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $60.62 and a 52 week high of $74.38. The stock has a market cap of $309.93 billion, a PE ratio of 29.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 462,407 shares of company stock worth $32,990,056. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.59.

Coca-Cola 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.