Clare Market Investments LLC Buys New Shares in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Clare Market Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 28,288 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,761,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.24.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 288,146 shares of company stock valued at $20,456,524 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO traded down $0.78 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $70.27. 7,534,336 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,002,579. The company has a market cap of $302.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.43, a PEG 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. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $65.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.58.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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, analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is an increase 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 yield of 2.90%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

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.