The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Purchased by Beech Hill Advisors Inc.

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. raised its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,194 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,721 shares during the period. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,193,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,808,056,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 11,138.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,977,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,343,000 after purchasing an additional 4,933,527 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $193,342,000. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,032,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,051,000 after acquiring an additional 2,973,234 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 40,564,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,390,448,000 after acquiring an additional 2,893,061 shares during the period. 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 Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value of $561,812.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,129,621.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total transaction of $561,812.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,129,621.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 223,665 shares of company stock valued at $13,995,465 over the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $63.83 on Wednesday. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $64.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $62.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.69. The company has a market capitalization of $274.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.83.

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.