Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Purchases 2,183 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,703 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,183 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 4.7% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,213,000 after buying an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.9% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 105,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,546,000 after acquiring an additional 2,935 shares during the period. Circle Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 3,088,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,913,000 after acquiring an additional 846,702 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $70.36 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market cap of $302.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

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.