Cullen Investment Group LTD. Acquires New Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 16,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $966,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $3,138,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.2 %

KO stock opened at $58.14 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $250.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $51.55 and a one year high of $64.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $60.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.51.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 78.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.18.

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.