Quantessence Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 15,885 The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Quantessence Capital LLC bought a new stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 15,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $989,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:KO traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $71.96. 16,313,300 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,392,155. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $309.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.13, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DZ Bank upgraded 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. 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 report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target 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.