Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Has $5.97 Million Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 95,861 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,800 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KO. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Hara Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 691 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of 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 increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $69.63 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $66.85 and its 200-day moving average is $66.55. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $299.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.19, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend yield of 2.93%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.