Bolthouse Investments LLC Acquires New Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Bolthouse Investments LLC bought a new position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,973 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $496,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of Coca-Cola 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 owns 342,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on KO. 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded 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 Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $75.06.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $71.73. 15,954,828 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,397,552. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38. The company has a market cap of $308.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $70.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.48.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.