BIP Wealth LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

BIP Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,456 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the quarter. BIP Wealth LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 213.3% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Avion Wealth grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 64.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.09.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE:KO traded up $0.91 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $61.55. 19,515,863 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,970,263. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $265.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $64.69.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The firm had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 78.23%.

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.