Hutner Capital Management Inc. Buys 19,755 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Hutner Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 147,769 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,755 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up approximately 4.4% of Hutner Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Hutner Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $9,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $173,000. Arrow Financial Corp increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Arrow Financial Corp now owns 32,319 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,012,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1,696.4% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 678,994 shares of the company's stock worth $42,125,000 after acquiring an additional 641,196 shares during the period. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Finally, Eagle Strategies LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 13,395 shares of the company's stock worth $834,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.59.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO traded up $0.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.69. 12,626,934 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,442,534. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $70.90 and a 200-day moving average of $66.56. 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 capitalization of $308.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,533,008.09. This represents a 18.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

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.