Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. Buys 4,902 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. raised its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 22.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,399 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,902 shares during the quarter. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rice Partnership LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,397,000 after acquiring an additional 6,793 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 104.9% during the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,351,000 after buying an additional 59,503 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 87.7% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after buying an additional 8,499 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 850,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,122,000 after acquiring an additional 46,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $69.59 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $66.03 and its 200 day moving average is $66.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $299.29 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

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.