Proficio Capital Partners LLC Boosts Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 46.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,843 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,426 shares during the quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 691 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $68.58 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.48. The company has a market capitalization of $295.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.