The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Purchased by Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC

Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC increased its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 15.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,620 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,811 shares during the period. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469 over the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of KO stock opened at $70.08 on Wednesday. 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 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $64.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $301.40 billion, a PE ratio of 28.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

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.