Forum Financial Management LP Raises Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 24.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,408 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,161 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $2,513,000. Rice Partnership LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,397,000 after acquiring an additional 6,793 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 62.2% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 26,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,663,000 after acquiring an additional 10,240 shares during the last quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 218,985 shares of the company's stock worth $13,634,000 after purchasing an additional 30,650 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 7,238,640 shares of the company's stock worth $447,963,000 after purchasing an additional 22,904 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.5%

KO traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,693,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,664,063. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38. The stock's 50-day moving average is $71.18 and its 200-day moving average is $67.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $307.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.92, a PEG 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company 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 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is 81.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $3,941,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,533,008.09. The trade was a 18.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 229,761 shares of company stock valued at $16,474,587. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on KO. Cfra Research raised Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $75.81.

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.