Essential Planning LLC. Acquires Shares of 156,515 The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 156,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,232,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Liberty Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 18,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 3,148 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 47,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,935,000 after purchasing an additional 3,436 shares in the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $141,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.6 %

KO opened at $71.00 on Wednesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $305.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $65.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.58. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

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.