Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC Lowers Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,884 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,298 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 213.3% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Avion Wealth grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 64.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $61.73. 3,244,269 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,919,048. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.02. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $64.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $266.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.80.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

About Coca-Cola

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.