Canal Capital Management LLC Purchases 13,593 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Canal Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 183.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,009 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,593 shares during the quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 18.5% in 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. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,402,151,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,123,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,553,337,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,529,537,000 after purchasing an additional 3,791,300 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on KO shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.59.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. 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 three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.8 %

KO stock opened at $72.99 on Monday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $59.72 and a 1-year high of $73.95. The stock 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.36. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors 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 2.79%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

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.