Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Buys 3,778 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,272 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,778 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,192,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on KO. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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 research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased 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. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of KO stock opened at $70.08 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $64.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $301.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.37, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.