Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Boosts Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 6.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,596 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,470 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CRA Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 12,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $761,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 46,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,802,000 after purchasing an additional 889 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 27.2% during the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 4,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 30,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,864,000 after acquiring an additional 1,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orser Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Orser Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. 68.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE KO opened at $57.94 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.25. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $54.01 and a 12 month high of $64.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $250.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.84, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.55.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.74 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.81% and a return on equity of 43.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, SVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.66, for a total transaction of $3,133,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at $8,984,378.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.66, for a total transaction of $3,133,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at $8,984,378.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 21,074 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.90, for a total transaction of $1,283,406.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 18,360 shares in the company, valued at $1,118,124. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 227,364 shares of company stock worth $14,122,016 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. HSBC lowered their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $77.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.33.

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.