Hilltop Partners LLC Grows Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Hilltop Partners LLC grew its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 21.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,490 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,898 shares during the period. Hilltop Partners LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 39,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,480,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. now owns 77,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,825,000 after buying an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 30,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,926,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $70.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $305.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53.

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 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%. Equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on KO shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.