Tiller Private Wealth Inc. Makes New Investment in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Tiller Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $58.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,107,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,742,084. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $253.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.74, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742 over the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on KO. Barclays lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.18.

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.