Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Increases Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 303,225 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,227 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $17,869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 213.3% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Avion Wealth increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 64.8% during the 4th 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 purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 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 in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction 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 quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.06 on Tuesday, reaching $62.41. 5,713,028 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,871,151. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $60.28 and its 200-day moving average is $59.25. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $51.55 and a one year high of $64.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $268.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend 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.