The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Acquired by First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 31.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,728 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,451 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola accounts for about 0.5% of First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 12.2% in the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,354,000 after acquiring an additional 4,527 shares in the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 7.6% in the third quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 10.3% in the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 61,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,435,000 after acquiring an additional 5,707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 46,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,738,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 323,107 shares of company stock valued at $19,657,742. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $61.92. 16,729,898 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,085,831. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $266.95 billion, a PE ratio of 25.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.02. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $64.25.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.23%.

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.