Atlas Brown Inc. Boosts Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Atlas Brown Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,024 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prudential PLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 45.9% in the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 38,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,438,000 after purchasing an additional 12,051 shares during the period. Studio Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 18.8% in the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 1,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 8.2% during the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 3,873,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,574,000 after purchasing an additional 294,500 shares during the last quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.7% during the second quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 26,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the period. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at $4,300,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded 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 Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO traded down $0.76 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $60.95. 11,815,500 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,923,398. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.48.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

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.