King Luther Capital Management Corp Raises Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,959,850 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,820 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up 1.1% of King Luther Capital Management Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned about 0.09% of Coca-Cola worth $246,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KO. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 39,198 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Great Diamond Partners LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 10,314 shares of the company's stock worth $642,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on KO. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $3,941,055.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,533,008.09. This trade represents a 18.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 288,146 shares of company stock valued at $20,456,524. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.00. The stock had a trading volume of 28,069,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,037,215. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $65.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.58. The firm has a market cap of $305.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.