Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Boosts Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,671,108 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 29,293 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $102,238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 226,152 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,836,000 after purchasing an additional 5,226 shares in the last quarter. Sutton Place Investors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 76.4% in the 1st quarter. Sutton Place Investors LLC now owns 14,089 shares of the company's stock valued at $862,000 after purchasing an additional 6,103 shares in the last quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 68.0% in the 1st quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC now owns 5,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,329 shares in the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,371 shares of the company's stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 270.0% in the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 71,486 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,373,000 after purchasing an additional 52,164 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of KO traded up $0.15 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $61.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,729,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,085,831. The company has a fifty day moving average of $60.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.04. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $64.25. The company has a market cap of $266.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is 78.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.18.

Coca-Cola 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.

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