The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Bought by Larson Financial Group LLC

Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 37,123 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,661 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO opened at $71.52 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $65.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $307.60 billion, a PE ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G 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.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced 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 year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.