Grantvest Financial Group LLC Purchases Shares of 3,279 The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Grantvest Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $68.58 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.43. The stock has a market cap of $295.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 in the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on KO. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.