The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Purchased by Palisade Asset Management LLC

Palisade Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 48,265 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,208 shares during the quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,844,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Elk River Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $639,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. KRS Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 8,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was 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 quarter, insiders have sold 380,405 shares of company stock worth $23,209,645. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.27.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $62.85. 10,268,773 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,829,980. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $270.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $64.25. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.30.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. Coca-Cola’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

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.