The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Purchased by Cascade Financial Partners LLC

Cascade Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,529 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Cascade Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 39,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,440,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Diamond Partners LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 10,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on KO. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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. Insiders have sold a total of 288,146 shares of company stock valued at $20,456,524 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO opened at $71.00 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $65.72 and its 200-day moving average is $66.58. The stock has a market cap of $305.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. 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 twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

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.