Metis Global Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 204,697 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,859 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $12,063,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,354,000 after acquiring an additional 4,527 shares during the period. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.6% in the third quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 10.3% in the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 61,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,435,000 after buying an additional 5,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smart Money Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 4,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 323,107 shares of company stock valued at $19,657,742. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.27.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO traded up $0.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $62.17. 11,628,675 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,782,690. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $64.25. The company has a market cap of $268.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $60.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.19.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

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.