Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Purchases 293 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. grew its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 231,330 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Coca-Cola comprises about 1.5% of Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $13,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Avion Wealth raised its position in Coca-Cola by 64.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock traded up $0.29 during trading on Thursday, reaching $62.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,307,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,990,373. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $64.25. 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 company has a market capitalization of $268.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s fifty day moving average is $60.21 and its 200-day moving average is $59.04.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly 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. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the business’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 value of $3,491,990.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742 over the last 90 days. 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.