The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Purchased by Freestone Capital Holdings LLC

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,034 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,762 shares during the quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $6,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth about $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on KO shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO opened at $70.17 on Thursday. 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 fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The company has a market cap of $301.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $65.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.55.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, research analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

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.