Heritage Investors Management Corp Acquires 15,974 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Heritage Investors Management Corp raised its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 278,232 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,974 shares during the period. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $17,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $97,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 272,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,937,000 after acquiring an additional 25,588 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 51,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,214,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 8,644,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $538,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027,823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor OS LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 33,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,142 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.82.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO opened at $70.80 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $304.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $64.19 and its 200-day moving average is $66.47. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Sell-side analysts predict 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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Company 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.