Empire Life Investments Inc. Purchases Shares of 43,459 The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Empire Life Investments Inc. acquired a new position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 43,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,706,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,852,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,123,000 after acquiring an additional 70,604 shares during the period. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at $234,000. Cardinal Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.3% during the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 81,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,915,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.9% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 79,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,680,000 after acquiring an additional 10,229 shares during the period. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the third quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 25,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,802,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:KO opened at $68.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $296.59 billion, a PE ratio of 28.45, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.36.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. 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 note on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen raised 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 Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.