Griffith & Werner Inc. Acquires New Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Griffith & Werner Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 90,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,646,000. Coca-Cola accounts for approximately 3.7% of Griffith & Werner Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company's stock worth $4,617,400,000 after acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,811,756 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position 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. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the 4th 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. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,533,008.09. This trade represents a 18.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 229,761 shares of company stock worth $16,474,587 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their price target 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. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. 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. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.81.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO traded down $0.33 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.45. 3,693,236 shares of the stock were exchanged, 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $307.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $71.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.11.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Coca-Cola's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is 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.