RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 101,795 The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 101,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,338,000. Coca-Cola accounts for 2.1% of RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% during 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. Atom Investors LP purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth $395,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 485.4% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 93,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,724,000 after purchasing an additional 77,580 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Coca-Cola by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 77,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,554,000 after buying an additional 7,317 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on KO. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $71.85 on Wednesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $309.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.09, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.39.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

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.