Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC Invests $338,000 in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 5,430 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $338,000.

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

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO traded down $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.73. The stock had a trading volume of 10,658,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,711,147. 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 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 $308.75 billion, a PE ratio of 29.04, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $71.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.08.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $3,941,055.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,533,008.09. The trade was a 18.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 284,469 shares of company stock worth $20,356,667. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.