The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Fiduciary Group LLC

Fiduciary Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,581 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,476 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $6,811,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Avion Wealth raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 64.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 928 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.22.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock remained flat at $61.74 during mid-day trading on Friday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,994,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,842,353. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $51.55 and a 12 month high of $64.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $266.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $60.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.85.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The firm had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 78.23%.

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.