Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp Takes Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,309,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Diamond Partners LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 10,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.1 %

KO opened at $70.80 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $67.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $304.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two 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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. On average, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on KO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.