Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 8,033,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $500,192,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KO. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $70.17 on Thursday. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $301.78 billion, a PE ratio of 28.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.55.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. 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. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.