Sterling Capital Management LLC Has $10.02 Million Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 160,878 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,943 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $10,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $70.93 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $69.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $305.23 billion, a PE ratio of 28.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

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.