Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Boosts Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 173,553 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,879 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $10,227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 531 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.4% during the third quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 230,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,004,000 after purchasing an additional 9,629 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at $357,000. ProVise Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.0% in the third quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC now owns 111,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,255,000 after purchasing an additional 3,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Windle Wealth LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Windle Wealth LLC now owns 99,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,592,000 after purchasing an additional 3,228 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Argus boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.58.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $63.91. The stock had a trading volume of 9,629,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,297,438. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $61.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.18. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $64.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $275.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value of $561,812.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,129,621.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total transaction of $561,812.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,638 shares in the company, valued at $2,129,621.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 180,838 shares of company stock valued at $11,220,064. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.