The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Acquired by Diversified Enterprises LLC

Diversified Enterprises LLC increased its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,755 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 691 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KO. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of KO opened at $69.16 on Friday. 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 $297.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.00, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $66.18 and a 200-day moving average of $66.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS 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 anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

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.