FourThought Financial Partners LLC Makes New $428,000 Investment in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 6,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $428,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company's stock worth $6,680,205,000 after buying an additional 11,206,995 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company's stock worth $6,664,005,000 after buying an additional 2,966,964 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company's stock worth $2,271,885,000 after buying an additional 4,013,996 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company's stock worth $1,990,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 16,021,195 shares of the company's stock worth $997,480,000 after purchasing an additional 351,462 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $70.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,288,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,725,477. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $64.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $304.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. 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 yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is 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.