3,699 Shares in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Bought by Frederick Financial Consultants LLC

Frederick Financial Consultants LLC acquired 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 Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,699 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company's stock worth $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock worth $2,123,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on KO shares. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of 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 Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.59.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded up $1.31 on Friday, hitting $72.99. The company had a trading volume of 20,745,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,385,871. The stock has a market capitalization of $314.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. 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 1 year low of $59.72 and a 1 year high of $73.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $70.39 and a 200-day moving average of $66.39.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

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