The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Purchased by Centaurus Financial Inc.

Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 26.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,006 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,394 shares during the quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc.'s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the company's stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company's stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company's stock worth $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Tradition Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,737 shares of the company's stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Great Diamond Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 10,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $75.81.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 229,761 shares of company stock valued at $16,474,587 in the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO stock traded up $0.64 on Friday, hitting $72.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 28,013,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,739,540. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $71.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.20. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38. The stock has a market cap of $310.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Coca-Cola's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. Equities 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.83%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.