Appleton Partners Inc. MA Has $1.10 Million Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA lowered its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,212 shares of the company’s stock after selling 666 shares during the quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,096,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $410,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 450,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,549,000 after acquiring an additional 89,139 shares during the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Smart Money Group LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 4,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on KO. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued 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.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, 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 value of $553,722,575.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at $1,742,280,050. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total value of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,954,176.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 879,375 shares of company stock worth $571,502,245. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:KO traded up $1.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $69.33. 22,514,775 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,301,018. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $64.00 and its 200-day moving average is $61.76. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $69.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $298.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 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 analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

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.