The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Position Trimmed by Valicenti Advisory Services Inc.

Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,244 shares of the company’s stock after selling 325 shares during the period. Valicenti Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 57,678,466 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $2,937,315,000. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 79,101,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,031,669,000 after acquiring an additional 10,722,435 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 26,580.3% during the first quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 4,330,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,331,000 after acquiring an additional 4,314,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 58,090,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,662,834,000 after acquiring an additional 4,147,833 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $77.00 to $74.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 7th. Barclays upped their price objective 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 upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CFO John Murphy sold 156,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.10, for a total transaction of $9,705,609.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 228,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,210,343. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.66, for a total value of $3,133,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,984,378.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 156,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.10, for a total value of $9,705,609.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 228,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,210,343. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 227,364 shares of company stock valued at $14,122,016. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO traded down $0.23 on Tuesday, reaching $58.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,317,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,093,075. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $54.01 and a twelve month high of $64.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $251.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.99, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $60.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.25.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.72%.

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.