Cannell & Spears LLC Has $18.84 Million Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Cannell & Spears LLC reduced its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 302,660 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,728 shares during the period. Cannell & Spears LLC's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $18,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,716,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.9% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 105,013 shares of the company's stock worth $7,546,000 after purchasing an additional 2,935 shares during the last quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 5.8% in the third quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,137 shares of the company's stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 15.6% in the third quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 6,654 shares of the company's stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 208.4% in the third quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 37,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,705,000 after buying an additional 25,440 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded up $1.68 on Thursday, hitting $73.01. The company had a trading volume of 14,205,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,945,000. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.93. The company has a market cap of $314.20 billion, a PE ratio of 29.56, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on KO. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.