Verus Financial Partners Inc. Increases Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Verus Financial Partners Inc. grew its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 26.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,437 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,126 shares during the quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 213.3% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Avion Wealth grew its position in Coca-Cola by 64.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 380,405 shares of company stock worth $23,209,645. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.2 %

Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Thursday, reaching $62.98. 2,945,066 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,758,578. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.30. The company has a market capitalization of $271.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.19, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $64.25.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

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.