Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. Buys 40,530 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 741.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 45,998 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,530 shares during the period. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares during the period. United Bank lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 65.4% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 80,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,813,000 after purchasing an additional 31,979 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 40.2% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 13,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $998,000 after purchasing an additional 3,987 shares during the period. Schear Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 17.6% during the third quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 7,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares during the period. Finally, Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 42.9% during the third quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 6,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,085 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’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 have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO opened at $69.16 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $66.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The firm 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.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

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