The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Bought by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,550,271 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 41,332 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned approximately 0.20% of Coca-Cola worth $532,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 25.0% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 17,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,258,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 182,521 shares of the company's stock worth $13,116,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the period. Aldebaran Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 11,711 shares of the company's stock worth $842,000 after buying an additional 2,065 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthquest Corp purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $412,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on KO. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $75.06.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.1 %

KO stock traded down $0.79 during trading on Thursday, reaching $72.51. 16,878,196 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,405,031. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $312.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $70.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.47. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $59.84 and a 1 year high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, 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 was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

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.