The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by WMS Partners LLC

WMS Partners LLC lessened its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 41,039 shares of the company’s stock after selling 583 shares during the period. WMS Partners LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,546,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. now owns 15,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $980,000 after purchasing an additional 1,788 shares in the last quarter. Arabesque Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 104.1% in the 4th quarter. Arabesque Asset Management Ltd now owns 73,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,666,000 after purchasing an additional 37,412 shares in the last quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 50,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,144,000 after purchasing an additional 6,020 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 26.1% in the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 13,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $826,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 5,950,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $378,522,000 after purchasing an additional 134,244 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.96% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of KO traded down $0.59 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $58.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,162,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,832,544. The firm has a market cap of $253.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.55. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $54.01 and a 1-year high of $64.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $60.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.34.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 75.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on KO shares. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $77.00 to $74.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 21,074 shares of the business’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 value of $1,283,406.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 18,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,118,124. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO John Murphy sold 156,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.10, for a total value 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 21,074 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.90, for a total value of $1,283,406.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 18,360 shares of the company’s stock, 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 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.