Morningstar Investment Management LLC Invests $785,000 in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Morningstar Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO – Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 12,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $785,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KO. My Personal CFO LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Exos TFP Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth $27,000. Worth Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 956.1% during the fourth quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.74% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE KO traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $60.22. 4,577,970 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,750,906. The business’s 50 day moving average is $62.68 and its 200-day moving average is $61.85. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $54.01 and a 12-month high of $65.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $260.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 24th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.96% and a net margin of 22.69%. The firm had revenue of $11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 15th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.33, for a total value of $9,649,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,468,984.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.33, for a total value of $9,649,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,468,984.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 253,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.63, for a total value of $16,104,880.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 184,563 shares in the company, valued at $11,743,743.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 540,473 shares of company stock worth $33,992,699. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KO. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $69.00 target price on Coca-Cola in a report on Tuesday, February 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 13th. Credit Suisse Group set a $70.00 target price on Coca-Cola in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $73.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.80.

Coca-Cola Profile

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The Coca-Cola Co engages in the manufacturing and marketing of non-alcoholic beverages. It operates through the following segments: Europe, Middle East and Africa, Latin America, North America, Asia Pacific, Global Ventures, and Bottling Investments. The company was founded by Asa Griggs Candler on May 8, 1886 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.