Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc Makes New $795,000 Investment in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc acquired a new stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 11,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $795,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $70.89. The company had a trading volume of 12,462,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,767,028. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $60.62 and a 12 month high of $74.38. The stock has a market cap of $305.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.70, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $71.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.60%.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $3,941,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,533,008.09. This trade represents a 18.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 496,164 shares of company stock worth $35,671,587 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KO. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.81.

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.