Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Sells 635 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC cut its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,979 shares of the company’s stock after selling 635 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Avion Wealth lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 64.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. 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 report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.27.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $62.35. The stock had a trading volume of 9,304,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,967,079. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.19. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $64.25. The company has a market cap of $268.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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. Insiders have sold a total of 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742 over the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.