Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Takes Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 864,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,793,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilkins Miller Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $542,000. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $1,615,000. Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $329,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 50,617 shares of the company's stock worth $3,151,000 after acquiring an additional 645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $1,630,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $75.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the company'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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 187,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 229,761 shares of company stock valued at $16,474,587. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO traded down $0.64 on Wednesday, reaching $71.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,697,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,683,222. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $60.62 and a twelve month 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 stock has a market cap of $306.21 billion, a PE ratio of 28.80, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The firm's 50 day moving average is $71.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.11.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. Coca-Cola's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS 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 dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio 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.