Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. Grows Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. increased its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 88.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,320 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,847 shares during the period. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 46.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 5,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602 shares in the last quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth $206,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the third quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 44,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,174,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 19.9% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,194,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,722,000 after purchasing an additional 364,526 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:KO opened at $70.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.46. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The firm has a market cap of $304.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend yield of 2.88%. 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%.

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.