Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Grows Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 73,828 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 46.4% during the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 5,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602 shares during the last quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at $206,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the third quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 44,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,174,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,194,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,722,000 after buying an additional 364,526 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $70.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $304.70 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $67.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.46. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. Analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Coca-Cola Company 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.