Stone House Investment Management LLC Buys 939 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 358.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,201 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 939 shares during the quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $71,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on KO shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.18.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $58.48. 9,654,431 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,749,526. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $51.55 and a 12 month high of $64.99. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $252.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a PEG ratio of 3.30 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The company had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.485 dividend. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.23%.

Insider Activity

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

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.