140,158 Shares in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Bought by Amiral Gestion

Amiral Gestion purchased a new stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 140,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,726,000. Coca-Cola accounts for about 5.5% of Amiral Gestion's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Hoey Investments Inc. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MilWealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE KO traded down $0.33 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.45. 3,693,236 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,664,063. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $307.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $71.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.11.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on KO. Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $3,941,055.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,533,008.09. This represents a 18.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 229,761 shares of company stock valued at $16,474,587. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.