Westbourne Investments Inc. Invests $263,000 in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Westbourne Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $263,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company's stock worth $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock worth $2,727,131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,811,756 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after buying an additional 6,118,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,553,337,000 after buying an additional 12,222,885 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Two equities research 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.59.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE KO traded up $0.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.69. The stock had a trading volume of 12,626,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,427,278. The business's 50-day moving average price is $70.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week 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 company has a market cap of $308.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 2.85%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 342,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the business'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 transaction of $3,941,055.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,533,008.09. This trade represents a 18.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.