3,431 Shares in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Acquired by Sherman Asset Management Inc.

Sherman Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $18,383,000. Balentine LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 92.4% in the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,048,000 after purchasing an additional 13,685 shares in the last quarter. Rice Partnership LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,397,000 after purchasing an additional 6,793 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 104.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,351,000 after purchasing an additional 59,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 87.7% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 8,499 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469 in the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $71.20 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $64.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.51. The company has a market capitalization of $306.22 billion, a PE ratio of 28.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. As a group, analysts expect 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 will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of several recent research reports. 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

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.