Norden Group LLC Has $3.31 Million Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Norden Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,132 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,494 shares during the quarter. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 38,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,383,000 after buying an additional 5,482 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 54,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,418,000 after buying an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Hickory Point Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $650,000. PCG Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $304,000. Finally, Levin Capital Strategies L.P. grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 235,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,675,000 after buying an additional 6,162 shares during 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, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of KO stock opened at $71.20 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The company has a market capitalization of $306.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly 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%. Research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.