HC Advisors LLC Increases Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

HC Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 33.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,128 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,803 shares during the period. HC Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $444,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% in 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. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.1% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 16,021,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $997,480,000 after purchasing an additional 351,462 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of Coca-Cola 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 owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $70.93 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $305.06 billion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. 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.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders 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 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on KO shares. DZ Bank raised 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 note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their target price 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. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.82.

Coca-Cola Company 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.