Park Avenue Securities LLC Decreases Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Park Avenue Securities LLC reduced its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,388 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,737 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.6% in the first quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 30,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,851,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.4% in the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 12,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Yale Capital Corp. increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.4% in the first quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 48,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,974,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Argus raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.20.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value of $561,812.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,129,621.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 937,334 shares of company stock valued at $575,874,057 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.6 %

KO stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $68.48. The company had a trading volume of 13,362,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,086,158. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $69.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $64.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.89. The stock has a market cap of $295.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

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.