Fortress Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Fortress Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,969 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the quarter. Fortress Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $499,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $2,513,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 62.2% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 26,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,663,000 after acquiring an additional 10,240 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 848,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,851,000 after acquiring an additional 204,681 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 196,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,257,000 after acquiring an additional 4,637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 10,484,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $652,767,000 after acquiring an additional 783,161 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of KO opened at $71.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $307.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $71.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.57.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 440,664 shares of company stock valued at $31,730,532. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on KO. UBS Group upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.81.

About Coca-Cola

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.