The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Purchased by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 761,525 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,002 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola comprises approximately 0.4% of Xponance Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $47,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,309,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 39,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Diamond Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 10,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on KO. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 note on Thursday, February 13th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 in the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $70.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $301.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $66.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.53.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

About Coca-Cola

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.