Forum Financial Management LP Buys 9,161 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 24.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,408 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,161 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. grew its position in Coca-Cola by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $72.99 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $58.54 and a 12 month high of $73.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $70.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.41. The firm has a market cap of $314.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Cfra Research upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $74.59.

About Coca-Cola

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.