The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Acquired by Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,783 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,792 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at $43,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on KO. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on 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 issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $71.52 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $65.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.58. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $307.60 billion, a PE ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

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, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

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.