The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Purchased by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,050 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,599 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,622,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KO. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen raised 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. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.82.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $71.37 on Monday. 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 capitalization of $307.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.41. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. 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. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.54%.

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.