Sanders Morris Harris LLC Makes New Investment in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Sanders Morris Harris LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $406,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $410,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 450,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,549,000 after acquiring an additional 89,139 shares during the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 12.2% in the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,354,000 after purchasing an additional 4,527 shares during the period. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the period. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 61,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,435,000 after purchasing an additional 5,707 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total transaction of $5,042,744.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,644,979.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 223,665 shares of company stock worth $13,995,465 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Argus increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.55.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.9 %

Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.59 during trading on Friday, reaching $62.77. The stock had a trading volume of 28,282,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,836,777. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $64.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $62.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $270.41 billion, a PE ratio of 25.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

About Coca-Cola

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.