FORA Capital LLC Makes New $1.30 Million Investment in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 20,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,299,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors grew 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 valued at $1,553,337,000 after buying an additional 12,222,885 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $75.59.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Coca-Cola stock traded down $1.03 during trading on Monday, hitting $69.50. The stock had a trading volume of 21,507,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,539,506. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock's 50 day moving average is $70.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.63. The stock has a market cap of $299.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 462,407 shares of company stock worth $32,990,056 in the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company 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.