Tufton Capital Management Has $4.09 Million Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Tufton Capital Management lessened its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 65,608 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,352 shares during the period. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fortress Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $416,000. Motco lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Motco now owns 99,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,164,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares during the period. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. now owns 26,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,655,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 53,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,346,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Security Advisor Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 23,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.82.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $70.93 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $64.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $305.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This is a positive change 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.