Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Increases Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. raised its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,383 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,991 shares during the period. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,501,789,000 after acquiring an additional 2,464,618 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,514,234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040,664 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,845,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,446,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,963,963 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,503,484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 13,804,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $813,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,949,500 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $60.64. 13,687,837 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,898,879. The stock has a market cap of $261.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $64.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $59.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.67.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The firm had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 78.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction 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. Insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.09.

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.