Navellier & Associates Inc. Increases Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Navellier & Associates Inc. increased its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 17.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,410 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,817 shares during the quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report 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 for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.82.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO opened at $71.37 on Friday. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The company has a 50 day moving average of $63.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.42. The company has a market cap of $307.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 78.54%.

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.