Summit Global Investments Grows Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Summit Global Investments boosted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 28.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 91,425 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,347 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in KO. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 213.3% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Avion Wealth increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 64.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 36.1% during the third quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 928 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on KO shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.2 %

KO stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $62.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,310,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,997,871. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $64.25. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $267.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.88, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. Coca-Cola’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

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.