NewEdge Wealth LLC Buys 25,588 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 272,029 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,588 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $16,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KO. FMR LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the third 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. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at $269,382,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 7,006.8% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,478,487 shares of the company's stock valued at $178,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,443,612 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:KO traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $70.93. The company had a trading volume of 16,780,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,036,717. 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 $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The firm has a market cap of $305.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.50.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.82.

About Coca-Cola

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.