RKL Wealth Management LLC Grows Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

RKL Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 43.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,584 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,303 shares during the period. RKL Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,680,205,000 after acquiring an additional 11,206,995 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,990,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609,565 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of KO stock opened at $71.52 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $65.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.60. The firm has a market cap of $307.60 billion, a PE ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on KO shares. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

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.