Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC Has $10.21 Million Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 163,910 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,893 shares during the period. Coca-Cola accounts for 2.5% of Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $10,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, MilWealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of KO opened at $70.36 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.38. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The company has a market cap of $302.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on KO shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.