Savvy Advisors Inc. Acquires 5,942 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Savvy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 22.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,310 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,942 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,012,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $3,402,151,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $500,192,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,529,537,000 after buying an additional 3,791,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $71.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $307.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.60 and a 200-day moving average of $66.36. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.95.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KO. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

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.