Van ECK Associates Corp Has $40.47 Million Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 686,695 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,759 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $40,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its position 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Avion Wealth lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 64.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Barclays upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Two investment 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.22.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of KO opened at $61.76 on Wednesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $64.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $266.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.90, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.19 and a 200-day moving average of $59.02.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. Coca-Cola’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.23%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 accessible through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.