Delta Financial Group Inc. Takes $734,000 Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Delta Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 11,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $734,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 11,206,995 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the third 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 during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth about $269,382,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 7,006.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,478,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,443,612 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:KO 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 Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.42. The company has a market cap of $307.46 billion, a PE ratio of 28.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.