The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by WESPAC Advisors LLC

WESPAC Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 13.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,936 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,699 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 145,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,460 shares during the period. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $128,000. TCW Group Inc. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 143,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,954,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the period. Richardson Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 138.5% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 197,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,288,000 after purchasing an additional 8,251 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.82.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE KO opened at $71.37 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $63.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $307.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.90, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.54%.

Coca-Cola 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.