6,549 Shares in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Acquired by North Forty Two & Co.

North Forty Two & Co. purchased a new position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 6,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $408,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares during the period. United Bank grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 65.4% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 80,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,813,000 after buying an additional 31,979 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at $221,000. Napa Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at $200,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of KO opened at $69.34 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $298.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.51. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two research 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 MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.