The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Holdings Raised by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,849 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,707 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $6,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,402,151,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $500,192,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after buying an additional 6,118,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the third 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. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 4.5 %

NYSE KO opened at $69.87 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.95. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.45. The company has a market capitalization of $300.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KO. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

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.