Fiduciary Group LLC Sells 3,794 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Fiduciary Group LLC lessened its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,954 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,794 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $7,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summitry LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.7% in the first quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 9,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.7% in the first quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.7% in the first quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 23,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,448,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.3% in the first quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 12,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 39.1% during the 1st quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 601 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.96% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO stock traded down $0.49 on Tuesday, hitting $58.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,984,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,868,524. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.29. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $54.01 and a 1 year high of $64.99. The stock has a market cap of $252.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.74 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.81% and a return on equity of 43.06%. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 75.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on KO shares. Wedbush boosted their price target 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. HSBC lowered their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $77.00 to $74.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 7th. 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. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, CFO John Murphy sold 156,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 228,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,210,343. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.66, for a total value of $3,133,000.00. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 156,290 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 228,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,210,343. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 227,364 shares of company stock worth $14,122,016. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.