Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Has $4.63 Million Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 10.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 75,597 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,213 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $410,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 24.7% during 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 period. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Smart Money Group LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 4,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 46,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Coca-Cola stock traded down $0.29 during trading on Friday, hitting $63.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,864,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,949,425. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $62.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.88. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $64.36. The stock has a market cap of $271.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total value of $1,224,645.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,168,055.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total value of $1,224,645.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,168,055.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 223,665 shares of company stock worth $13,995,465 over the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KO. Barclays boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.83.

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.