Hilltop Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Hilltop Partners LLC increased its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 21.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,490 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,898 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Partners LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO opened at $70.93 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The stock has a market cap of $305.06 billion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $64.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.50.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on KO shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.82.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.