John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Boosts Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,081 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $476,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.2% during the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,354,000 after purchasing an additional 4,527 shares in the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 61,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,435,000 after buying an additional 5,707 shares in the last quarter. Cohen Lawrence B grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cohen Lawrence B now owns 40,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 46,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,738,000 after buying an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Barclays upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.09.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO opened at $60.17 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $59.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.56. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $64.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $259.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.26, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The firm had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. Coca-Cola’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.23%.

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.