The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Bought by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,656,482 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 324,602 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.06% of Coca-Cola worth $165,393,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 39,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,440,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Great Diamond Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 10,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $71.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $305.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $65.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.58.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’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 transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $3,941,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,533,008.09. The trade was a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 288,146 shares of company stock valued at $20,456,524 over the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.