SlateStone Wealth LLC Purchases 20,578 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 22.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 110,901 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,578 shares during the quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $6,905,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GWN Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,452,000. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 245,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,292,000 after purchasing an additional 2,128 shares during the period. Altus Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. Glenview Trust co grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 457,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,454,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 43,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,727,000 after purchasing an additional 3,388 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO opened at $69.16 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $66.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.58. The firm has a market cap of $297.47 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS 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 2.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the 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 owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola 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.