Cetera Trust Company N.A Invests $1.90 Million in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 32,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,900,000. Coca-Cola accounts for approximately 1.2% of Cetera Trust Company N.A’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,475,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,586,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,513,000 after buying an additional 69,600 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 328,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,347,000 after acquiring an additional 55,082 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 1,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KO. Citigroup boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.09.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO stock traded up $1.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $60.17. 21,207,852 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,594,415. The stock has a market cap of $259.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.26, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $59.94 and its 200 day moving average is $58.58. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $64.99.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The firm 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.23%.

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.