Verus Capital Partners LLC Acquires 300 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,840 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at $228,000. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth $216,000. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. now owns 22,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,583,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.9% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 409,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,400,000 after purchasing an additional 3,793 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO opened at $71.20 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $64.53 and a 200 day moving average of $66.53. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The stock has a market cap of $306.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.82, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

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.