Prentice Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,385 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 639 shares during the period. Prentice Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after buying an additional 11,206,995 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,664,005,000 after acquiring an additional 2,966,964 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,990,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in Coca-Cola by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 16,021,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $997,480,000 after purchasing an additional 351,462 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $71.37 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $63.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.44. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $307.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.90, a PEG 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 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 anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KO. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.82.

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.