Cozad Asset Management Inc. Acquires 200 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 51,877 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of several research reports. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.7 %

KO opened at $69.16 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $66.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $297.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. 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 one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53.

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, 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%. Equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

About Coca-Cola

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.