Marco Investment Management LLC Buys 650 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Marco Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 288,067 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. Coca-Cola comprises approximately 1.7% of Marco Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $16,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 12,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 2,590 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 29,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 2,915 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 92,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,465,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebrook Private Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $785,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a 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 report on Friday, April 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. Insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742 in the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock remained flat at $61.74 during mid-day trading on Friday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,994,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,842,353. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $266.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $51.55 and a 1-year high of $64.69. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $60.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.89.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its 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. The business had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 78.23%.

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.