Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC cut its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 23.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,326 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,257 shares during the period. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of several research reports. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:KO opened at $69.16 on Monday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $66.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $297.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.00, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders 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 is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last ninety days. 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.