Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 64.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,978 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,394 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 9.5% in 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 last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 21.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,553,337,000 after buying an additional 12,222,885 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. 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. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $75.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of Coca-Cola 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 462,407 shares of company stock worth $32,990,056. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO opened at $71.84 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $309.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38. The business's 50-day moving average price is $71.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion for 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 was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

Coca-Cola Company 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.

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