Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Purchases 23,955 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 253,404 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 23,955 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $15,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $70.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $304.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The business has a 50-day moving average of $67.62 and a 200 day moving average of $66.46.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on KO. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of 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 Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

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.