Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Purchases 2,128 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 245,650 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,128 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up 1.1% of Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $15,292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. United Bank lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 65.4% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 80,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,813,000 after acquiring an additional 31,979 shares during the last quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,678,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. TSA Wealth Managment LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. TSA Wealth Managment LLC now owns 69,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,963,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 2,740,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,920,000 after purchasing an additional 207,951 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price 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 issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $69.16 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $66.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $297.47 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.51 per share. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Coca-Cola Company 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.