Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 19,283 The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 19,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,201,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock worth $2,123,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $75.81.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $3,941,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,533,008.09. The trade was a 18.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 229,761 shares of company stock valued at $16,474,587 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $71.45. 3,693,236 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,664,035. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $71.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.11. 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 P/E ratio of 28.92, a P/E/G 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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. Coca-Cola's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

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

Coca-Cola 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.