The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Position Increased by Shoker Investment Counsel Inc.

Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,829 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 643 shares during the period. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth approximately $18,383,000. Balentine LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 92.4% during the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,048,000 after purchasing an additional 13,685 shares in the last quarter. Rice Partnership LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,397,000 after purchasing an additional 6,793 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 104.9% in the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,351,000 after purchasing an additional 59,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 87.7% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 8,499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO stock opened at $70.93 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53. 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 company has a market cap of $305.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $64.36 and its 200-day moving average is $66.50.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469 over the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.