Gabelli Funds LLC Decreases Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Gabelli Funds LLC decreased its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 305,110 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,925 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $18,996,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on KO. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $74.59.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded up $1.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.99. 20,745,798 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,409,159. The firm has a market capitalization of $314.13 billion, a PE ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $59.00 and a 1-year high of $73.95. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.39 and a 200-day moving average price 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 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 return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.51 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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.