Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Has $4.95 Million Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. lifted its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 15.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 79,495 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,884 shares during the quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Rice Partnership LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,397,000 after acquiring an additional 6,793 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted 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 worth $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 8,499 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,885,000 after acquiring an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,582,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in Coca-Cola by 222.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 192,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,814,000 after purchasing an additional 132,701 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO opened at $69.63 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market cap of $299.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.19, 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 released 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 return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. On average, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on KO. UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. 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 research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $961,317.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Coca-Cola

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.