The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Acquired by Investment Partners Asset Management Inc.

Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. increased its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 40.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,874 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,126 shares during the quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $779,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 41.9% in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.8%

KO opened at $72.36 on Wednesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $311.44 billion, a PE ratio of 29.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $71.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.72.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 275,946 shares in the company, valued at $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on KO. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Monday. Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.00.

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.