RMR Wealth Builders Grows Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

RMR Wealth Builders increased its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,751 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,543 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders’ holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,812,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,503,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950,146 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,501,789,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464,618 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,514,234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040,664 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 8.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,845,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,446,822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 13,804,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949,500 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on KO. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.27.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of Coca-Cola 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 380,405 shares of company stock valued at $23,209,645 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $62.83 on Thursday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $51.55 and a 1-year high of $64.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $60.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.30. The company has a market cap of $270.67 billion, a PE ratio of 25.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

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

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.