Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Takes $40.69 Million Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 653,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,686,000. Coca-Cola makes up approximately 0.6% of Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 17,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 182,521 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,116,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 11,711 shares of the company's stock valued at $842,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthquest Corp acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at about $412,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on KO shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock 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 on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.06.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Coca-Cola stock traded down $0.18 during trading on Monday, hitting $71.73. The stock had a trading volume of 15,954,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,397,552. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock's 50 day moving average is $70.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.48. The stock has a market cap of $308.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

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.