CapWealth Advisors LLC Trims Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

CapWealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 186,461 shares of the company’s stock after selling 472 shares during the quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $10,988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 16.7% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 12,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 1,754 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 149,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,255,000 after acquiring an additional 43,680 shares during the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 385.3% in the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 19,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 15,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 11.9% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,840,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,115,000 after acquiring an additional 301,804 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.18.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:KO traded up $0.22 on Thursday, reaching $58.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,228,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,687,251. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $64.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $253.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $59.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.52.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

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.