Valley National Advisers Inc. Acquires 1,493 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 34.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,851 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,493 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $344,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Morgan Stanley grew 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,464,618 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 103,297.9% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 57,734,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,672,479,000 after buying an additional 57,678,466 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $2,937,315,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted 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 acquiring an additional 2,040,664 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $59.28 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.43. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $51.55 and a 1-year high of $64.99. The stock has a market cap of $255.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.90, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The business had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 78.23%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,602,980. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.00.

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.