Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE Boosts Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE raised its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,256 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,664,005,000 after buying an additional 2,966,964 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,402,151,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 18,313,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,130,138,000 after buying an additional 550,582 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 4.5 %

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $69.87 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.95. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.42. The company has a market cap of $300.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were 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 was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

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.