Signaturefd LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Signaturefd LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 529,692 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,349 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola comprises about 0.6% of Signaturefd LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $32,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares during the period. United Bank grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 65.4% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 80,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,813,000 after acquiring an additional 31,979 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 13,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $998,000 after purchasing an additional 3,987 shares in the last quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 7,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 42.9% during the third quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 6,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,085 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of KO opened at $69.16 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $66.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.54. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $297.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued 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%. Equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders 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 is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on KO. UBS Group increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. DZ Bank raised 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 note on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.