Financial Counselors Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Financial Counselors Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 311,184 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,979 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $18,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 213.3% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO traded down $0.81 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $58.91. The company had a trading volume of 11,858,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,936,829. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $64.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $253.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 78.23%.

About Coca-Cola

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.