Schulhoff & Co. Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Schulhoff & Co. Inc. grew its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 77,505 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up 2.1% of Schulhoff & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Schulhoff & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KO. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $70.93 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $305.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.50.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS 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, sell-side analysts forecast 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 disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred 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. Insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KO. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI raised 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, Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.82.

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.