HMV Wealth Advisors LLC Buys New Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

HMV Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $500,192,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,885,000 after buying an additional 4,013,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $269,382,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:KO opened at $69.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $297.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $66.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. As a group, analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.