Hutner Capital Management Inc. Purchases 19,755 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Hutner Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 147,769 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,755 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up 4.4% of Hutner Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Hutner Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $9,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 1.7 %

KO opened at $71.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $306.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.86, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.58. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $60.62 and a twelve month high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’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 worth $22,263,071 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on KO shares. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.59.

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.