Finward Bancorp Takes Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Finward Bancorp purchased a new stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 15,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $947,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the company's stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company's stock worth $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company's stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Brown Inc. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,309,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO traded up $1.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $72.99. 20,745,798 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,392,094. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $58.54 and a 52-week high of $73.95. 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 company has a market cap of $314.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $70.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.41.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is 82.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on KO shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.