The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Bought by Stephens Consulting LLC

Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,750 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 213.3% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Avion Wealth grew its position in Coca-Cola by 64.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 36.1% in the third quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related 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 transaction of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $60.55. 15,329,407 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,897,521. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $51.55 and a 12 month high of $64.99. The stock has a market cap of $261.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.23%.

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.