Cornerstone Advisors LLC Acquires 1,800 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 324,400 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola comprises about 0.8% of Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $20,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE KO opened at $71.47 on Tuesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $307.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.93, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.