Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. Takes $1.62 Million Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 25,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,615,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock worth $2,123,301,000 after buying an additional 6,118,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.81.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 284,469 shares of company stock worth $20,356,667 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.1%

KO traded down $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.73. 10,658,148 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,711,147. The company's fifty day moving average price is $71.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $308.75 billion, a PE ratio of 29.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week 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.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. The firm's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

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 $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.