Sandy Spring Bank Has $3.58 Million Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Sandy Spring Bank grew its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 57,501 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,938 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,909,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,888,000 after purchasing an additional 4,862 shares during the period. L.K. Benson & Company P.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,000. First Financial Bankshares Inc raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 965,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,108,000 after buying an additional 96,168 shares during the last quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,809,000. Finally, GM Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 17,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on KO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.5 %

KO stock opened at $69.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $299.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

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.