Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co Acquires 6,264 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co increased its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,225 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,264 shares during the quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,475,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 154,591 shares of the company's stock worth $9,625,000 after purchasing an additional 9,108 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 140,437 shares of the company's stock worth $8,744,000 after purchasing an additional 9,243 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 62,517 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,892,000 after purchasing an additional 14,872 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RPG Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC now owns 95,042 shares of the company's stock worth $5,917,000 after buying an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE KO traded up $0.13 during mid-day 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $64.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.50. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The company has a market capitalization of $305.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is 82.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of several research reports. DZ Bank raised 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 Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.82.

Coca-Cola 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.