Socha Financial Group LLC Decreases Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Socha Financial Group LLC reduced its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 14.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,006 shares of the company’s stock after selling 691 shares during the period. Coca-Cola accounts for 0.1% of Socha Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Socha Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Avion Wealth grew its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 36.1% during the third quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $8,602,980. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of KO traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $60.64. 13,687,837 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,898,879. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $64.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $59.95 and its 200-day moving average is $58.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $261.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KO. Citigroup increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six 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 $67.09.

Coca-Cola 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.