The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Everence Capital Management Inc.

Everence Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 28.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 88,370 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,520 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of KO. Wealth Alliance boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 13,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $790,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the last quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,345,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $346,000. United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 33,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,986,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ACT Advisors LLC. boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. ACT Advisors LLC. now owns 13,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $802,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on KO shares. Citigroup increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two investment 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, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.18.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $58.06. The company had a trading volume of 11,231,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,761,098. The stock has a market cap of $250.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $51.55 and a 12 month high of $64.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.51.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.23%.

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.