Rodgers Brothers Inc. Buys 152 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Rodgers Brothers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,740 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Coca-Cola accounts for approximately 1.0% of Rodgers Brothers Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Rodgers Brothers Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $7,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,402,151,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Coca-Cola by 6.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,990,407,000 after buying an additional 1,609,565 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KO. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $70.36 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $67.77 and its 200 day moving average is $66.38. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $302.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.49, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts predict 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. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 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.