Bell Bank Increases Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Bell Bank boosted its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 26,103 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 898 shares during the quarter. Bell Bank’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.82.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.9 %

KO stock opened at $71.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.44. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The company has a market capitalization of $307.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 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%. As a group, equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.54%.

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.