The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Purchased by Arete Wealth Advisors LLC

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 39.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 44,241 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,628 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KO. Rice Partnership LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,397,000 after buying an additional 6,793 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 87.7% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 8,499 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,885,000 after acquiring an additional 4,013,996 shares during the period. Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,582,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 222.9% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 192,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,814,000 after purchasing an additional 132,701 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of KO stock opened at $71.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $307.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.42.

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 return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI lifted 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is currently 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.