The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Middleton & Co. Inc. MA

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA cut its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,075 shares of the company’s stock after selling 750 shares during the quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KO. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on KO. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $71.20 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $64.53 and a 200-day moving average of $66.53. The firm has a market cap of $306.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.