Tortoise Investment Management LLC Has $188,000 Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,016 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth $43,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $71.47 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $307.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.93, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $65.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced 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%. On average, analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. This is an increase 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 is presently 82.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company 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 given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

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.