Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. Lowers Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. cut its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,815 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,080 shares during the period. Coca-Cola accounts for 1.8% of Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. raised its position in Coca-Cola by 12.8% during the first quarter. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. now owns 15,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $980,000 after acquiring an additional 1,788 shares during the period. Arabesque Asset Management Ltd raised its position in Coca-Cola by 104.1% during the fourth quarter. Arabesque Asset Management Ltd now owns 73,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,666,000 after acquiring an additional 37,412 shares during the period. Janney Capital Management LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 13.5% during the first quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 50,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,144,000 after acquiring an additional 6,020 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 26.1% during the first quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 13,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $826,000 after acquiring an additional 2,758 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in Coca-Cola by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 5,950,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $378,522,000 after acquiring an additional 134,244 shares during the period. 68.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of KO traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $58.43. The stock had a trading volume of 2,005,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,853,135. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $54.01 and a 52-week high of $64.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $60.62 and its 200 day moving average is $61.28. The firm has a market cap of $252.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.81% and a return on equity of 43.06%. The firm had revenue of $12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, SVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 21,074 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.90, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO John Murphy sold 156,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.10, for a total value 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 $14,210,343. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 21,074 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.90, for a total transaction of $1,283,406.60. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sold a total of 227,364 shares of company stock valued at $14,122,016 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $77.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.33.

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.