Rahlfs Capital LLC Makes New Investment in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Rahlfs Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 11,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $701,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 106,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,652,000 after buying an additional 3,707 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,030,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,187,000 after purchasing an additional 94,103 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 2,950,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,714,000 after purchasing an additional 27,454 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 51,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,229,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares during the period. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $81,694,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 4.5 %

NYSE KO opened at $69.87 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $68.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.95. 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 firm has a market cap of $300.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced 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%. Analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

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.