Slagle Financial LLC Acquires 8,613 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Slagle Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 86,177 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,613 shares during the period. Coca-Cola accounts for about 2.4% of Slagle Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Slagle Financial LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Premier Fund Managers Ltd lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 72.8% in the 4th quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 26,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,624,000 after purchasing an additional 11,025 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 253,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,777,000 after acquiring an additional 23,955 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,172,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $197,493,000 after acquiring an additional 269,491 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,089,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,083,000 after acquiring an additional 52,550 shares during the period. Finally, Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $241,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $70.80 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $67.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.46. 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 firm has a market capitalization 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

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.