Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 39.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,241 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,628 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 39,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on KO shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.6 %

Coca-Cola stock opened at $71.46 on Thursday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The firm has a market cap of $307.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $68.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its 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 net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. 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 dividend yield of 2.85%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

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.