Altfest L J & Co. Inc. Acquires 418 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. boosted its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,219 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 418 shares during the period. Altfest L J & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 171,246,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,390,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628,772 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,503,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950,146 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,501,789,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464,618 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 103,297.9% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 57,734,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,672,479,000 after purchasing an additional 57,678,466 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,937,315,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at $8,602,980. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.1 %

KO traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $61.12. 4,212,318 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,035,743. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $60.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $263.50 billion, a PE ratio of 24.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $64.99.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This is an increase 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 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 78.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KO. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Citigroup raised their target price 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. upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.00.

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.