The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Purchased by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,051,672 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 335,409 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.09% of Coca-Cola worth $252,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $72.99 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $314.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $59.72 and a fifty-two week high of $73.95. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.39.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Cfra Research upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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 two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.