Sandhill Capital Partners LLC Has $4.51 Million Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Sandhill Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,510 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 759 shares during the period. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 25.0% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 17,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 667,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,941,000 after acquiring an additional 6,962 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,730,000. Finally, EWA LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.9% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 4,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $68.22 on Tuesday. 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 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $68.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.58 billion, a PE ratio of 27.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced 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 net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $3,941,055.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,533,008.09. This trade represents a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler increased 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

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.