WealthTrust Axiom LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

WealthTrust Axiom LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 43.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,029 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,657 shares during the period. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $639,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 8,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.22.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:KO traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $61.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,707,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,957,568. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $64.69. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.96. The stock has a market cap of $266.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 78.23%.

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.