Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC Invests $19.06 Million in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 306,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,061,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 54,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,375,000 after buying an additional 2,203 shares during the period. Laraway Financial Advisors Inc raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Laraway Financial Advisors Inc now owns 9,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 552.8% in the 4th quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 475,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,600,000 after purchasing an additional 402,595 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 91.6% during the 4th quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 530,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,059,000 after purchasing an additional 253,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $706,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

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 transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 462,407 shares of company stock valued at $32,990,056. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.8%

KO opened at $70.62 on Monday. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $70.95 and its 200 day moving average is $66.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $303.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.59, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.