Foster Group Inc. Purchases 1,416 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Foster Group Inc. increased its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 28.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,370 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,416 shares during the quarter. Foster Group Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $2,513,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 62.2% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 26,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,663,000 after acquiring an additional 10,240 shares in the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 848,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,851,000 after acquiring an additional 204,681 shares in the last quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 143,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,910,000 after acquiring an additional 39,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 196,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,257,000 after acquiring an additional 4,637 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on 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, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.81.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO opened at $70.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38. The stock has a market cap of $305.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $71.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.51.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 275,946 shares in the company, valued at $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 440,664 shares of company stock worth $31,730,532. 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.