Snider Financial Group Buys New Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Snider Financial Group purchased a new position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $562,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth about $194,000. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.7% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. Finally, ASB Consultores LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 34.0% in the third quarter. ASB Consultores LLC now owns 5,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 1,350 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on KO shares. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO opened at $70.08 on Wednesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $64.87 and a 200 day moving average of $66.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $301.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.37, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.