The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Acquired by United Asset Strategies Inc.

United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,697 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,475 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth $31,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.2 %

Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $58.24. The stock had a trading volume of 3,646,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,708,768. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $60.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.51. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $51.55 and a 12 month high of $64.99. The stock has a market cap of $251.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.485 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.23%.

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.