Norden Group LLC Has $3.31 Million Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Norden Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 53,132 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,494 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted 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 issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $71.20 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.51. 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 firm has a market cap of $306.22 billion, a PE ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month 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, 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%. Equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 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.