Clare Market Investments LLC Buys New Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Clare Market Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 28,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,761,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Morton Community Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Community Bank now owns 50,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,113,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 3,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $239,000. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,458,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,818,000 after buying an additional 20,031 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $71.52 on Monday. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.56. The company has a market cap of $307.60 billion, a PE ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on KO shares. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

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.