The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) is Patten Group Inc.’s 5th Largest Position

Patten Group Inc. cut its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 179,695 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,602 shares during the period. Coca-Cola accounts for 2.5% of Patten Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Patten Group Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $11,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Two 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.5 %

KO opened at $72.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $310.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.27, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year 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. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.52.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal 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 2.82%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

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.