Sciencast Management LP Has $2.78 Million Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Sciencast Management LP increased its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,719 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,280 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. United Bank grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 65.4% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 80,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,813,000 after buying an additional 31,979 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,683,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,814,000 after buying an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 4,148,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,138,000 after buying an additional 274,961 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of KO opened at $68.58 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $67.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.52. The company has a market cap of $295.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-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.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS 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%. Analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on KO. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.