Founders Financial Alliance LLC Increases Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Founders Financial Alliance LLC grew its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 20,767 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 225 shares during the quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,293,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 11,206,995 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth approximately $500,192,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,885,000 after acquiring an additional 4,013,996 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at approximately $269,382,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $71.47 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $65.55 and its 200 day moving average is $66.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction 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 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola 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.