Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Increases Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 72.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 296,378 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 124,317 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $18,452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.8 %

KO opened at $72.99 on Friday. 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 fifty day moving average is $70.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.39. The company has a market capitalization of $314.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $59.72 and a 52 week high of $73.95.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Analysts forecast 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 paid a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase 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 2.79%. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is 82.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.59.

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.

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