Cullen Investment Group LTD. Acquires New Shares in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 16,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $966,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.18.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $58.14 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $250.65 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $60.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.51. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $64.99.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 78.23%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.