The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Acquired by Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC

Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,229 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 20.2% in the first quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 709,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,032,000 after purchasing an additional 119,327 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 31.3% in the first quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 45,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,813,000 after purchasing an additional 10,810 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.9% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 153,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,575,000 after purchasing an additional 2,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.8% in the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 181,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,263,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905 shares in the last quarter. 68.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $58.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $252.07 billion, a PE ratio of 23.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.55. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $54.01 and a fifty-two week high of $64.99. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $11.74 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.81% and a return on equity of 43.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. Analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 75.72%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 156,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 228,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,210,343. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 21,074 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.90, for a total transaction of $1,283,406.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,118,124. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 227,364 shares of company stock worth $14,122,016 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.33.

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.