The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Bought by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 109,648 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,352 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $6,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KO. UBS Group lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock opened at $71.00 on Wednesday. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The firm has a market cap of $305.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.58.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 288,146 shares of company stock valued at $20,456,524. 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.