Atwater Malick LLC Buys 5,132 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Atwater Malick LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 144,421 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,132 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up about 3.5% of Atwater Malick LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Atwater Malick LLC's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $10,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Coca-Cola by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after buying an additional 3,811,756 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after buying an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its position in Coca-Cola by 96.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after buying an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $71.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,519,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,795,047. The stock has a market cap of $307.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $60.62 and a twelve month high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 275,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 440,664 shares of company stock valued at $31,730,532 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by 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.