Motco Buys 767 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Motco lifted its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,002 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 767 shares during the quarter. Motco’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $6,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at $18,383,000. Balentine LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 92.4% during the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,048,000 after buying an additional 13,685 shares during the period. Rice Partnership LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,397,000 after buying an additional 6,793 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 104.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,351,000 after acquiring an additional 59,503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 87.7% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 8,499 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE KO opened at $70.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $305.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $64.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.50.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its 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, equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is an increase 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 2.88%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.82.

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.