The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Stock Position Increased by Versor Investments LP

Versor Investments LP lifted its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,000 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 673 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.4% during the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 74,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,004,000 after purchasing an additional 8,211 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 11.0% during the third quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,849,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.6% during the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,980,000 after purchasing an additional 3,073 shares during the period. Finally, Boyd Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth $201,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank 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 Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.82.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $70.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $64.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.50. The firm 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.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.