Choate Investment Advisors Purchases 1,475 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Choate Investment Advisors increased its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 61,303 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Diversified Enterprises LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC now owns 12,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 2,807,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,809,000 after purchasing an additional 67,392 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd now owns 44,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,775,000 after purchasing an additional 17,665 shares in the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 37,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 179,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,191,000 after purchasing an additional 13,768 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.7 %

Coca-Cola stock opened at $69.16 on Friday. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.58. The company has a market cap of $297.47 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on KO. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays upped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

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.