Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. Has $104,000 Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. lessened its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 9.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,706 shares of the company’s stock after selling 182 shares during the period. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE KO traded down $0.52 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $67.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,443,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,848,405. The company has a market cap of $289.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $51.55 and a fifty-two week high of $67.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on KO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com lowered Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 879,375 shares of company stock worth $571,502,245. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.