Founders Financial Securities LLC Trims Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Founders Financial Securities LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 38.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,276 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,701 shares during the quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KO. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Elk River Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on KO shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total transaction of $5,042,744.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,644,979.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,358,962.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 223,665 shares of company stock worth $13,995,465 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $63.65. 17,358,827 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,241,235. The company has a market cap of $274.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $62.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.78. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $64.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.