Moors & Cabot Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased 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. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays raised 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 288,146 shares of company stock worth $20,456,524. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $71.00 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.72 and a 200 day moving average of $66.58. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $305.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. 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 announced its 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Coca-Cola 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.