Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. Boosts Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 179,740 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,768 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola makes up 1.5% of Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $11,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:KO opened at $69.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $297.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.00, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $66.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of 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 Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.