Heritage Investors Management Corp Acquires 15,974 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Heritage Investors Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 278,232 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,974 shares during the period. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $17,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth about $18,383,000. Balentine LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 92.4% during the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,048,000 after buying an additional 13,685 shares in the last quarter. Rice Partnership LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,397,000 after buying an additional 6,793 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 104.9% in the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,351,000 after buying an additional 59,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 87.7% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,132,000 after buying an additional 8,499 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on KO shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.82.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $70.80 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $304.53 billion, a PE ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50 day moving average of $64.19 and a 200 day moving average of $66.47. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

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.