Moran Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,850 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,684 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 65.4% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 80,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,813,000 after purchasing an additional 31,979 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 109,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,837,000 after purchasing an additional 7,099 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 150.4% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 9,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,000 after buying an additional 5,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 113.1% in the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 4,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 2,574 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 288,146 shares of company stock worth $20,456,524. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $71.00 on Wednesday. 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 has a market capitalization of $305.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.72 and a 200 day moving average of $66.58. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.