The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) is Cullinan Associates Inc.’s 3rd Largest Position

Cullinan Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO – Get Rating) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,614,421 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 328,735 shares during the period. Coca-Cola comprises about 5.7% of Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $102,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter valued at about $77,000. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 12,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,754 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 149,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,255,000 after purchasing an additional 43,680 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 385.3% in the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 19,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 15,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,840,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,115,000 after acquiring an additional 301,804 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.74% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 46,421 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.50, for a total value of $2,808,470.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 592,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,849,033. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian John Smith sold 126,972 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.07, for a total transaction of $7,881,152.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 116,168 shares in the company, valued at $7,210,547.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 46,421 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.50, for a total transaction of $2,808,470.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 592,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,849,033. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 282,268 shares of company stock valued at $17,137,823. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $60.02 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $259.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day moving average is $60.27 and its 200 day moving average is $60.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $54.01 and a 52-week high of $67.20.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.45. The company had revenue of $10.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.92 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 42.35%. Coca-Cola’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 17th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 16th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 83.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KO. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. Credit Suisse Group set a $70.00 price objective on Coca-Cola in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Citigroup started coverage on Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.70.

About Coca-Cola

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The Coca-Cola Co engages in the manufacturing and marketing of non-alcoholic beverages. It operates through the following segments: Europe, Middle East and Africa, Latin America, North America, Asia Pacific, Global Ventures, and Bottling Investments. The company was founded by Asa Griggs Candler on May 8, 1886 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.