Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. Purchases 1,378 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 33.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,450 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares during the quarter. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 39,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,440,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Great Diamond Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 10,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $642,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Wallace Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO opened at $70.80 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $64.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $304.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.67, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. On average, equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.