BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC Acquires 505 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,445 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the period. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on KO. 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 note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock opened at $70.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $66.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.53. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $301.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.40, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

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, beating 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.