MML Investors Services LLC Increases Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 692,355 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,214 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $43,106,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 in the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:KO traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $73.32. The company had a trading volume of 16,349,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,399,074. 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 capitalization of $315.52 billion, a PE ratio of 29.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $70.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.43. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $59.84 and a one year high of $74.38.

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, topping 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, research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised 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 Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.06.

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.