The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. reduced its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 77,199 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,186 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,723,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.7% during the first quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC now owns 12,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth $2,108,000. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the first quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 121,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,460,000 after purchasing an additional 4,802 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 509,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,158,000 after purchasing an additional 19,985 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 39.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 366,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,433,000 after purchasing an additional 104,506 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on KO. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.20.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total transaction of $1,224,645.76. Following 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 879,375 shares of company stock valued at $571,502,245. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded up $1.37 on Friday, hitting $69.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 22,514,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,301,018. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $64.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.76. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $69.67. The company has a market capitalization of $298.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

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.