BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC Invests $511,000 in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $511,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $269,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $202,017,000. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. XY Planning Network Inc. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $230,000. Finally, Yoffe Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $524,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the business'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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 229,761 shares of company stock worth $16,474,587. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.81.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of KO traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $72.11. The stock had a trading volume of 5,760,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,652,062. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.60%.

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.