Hennessy Advisors Inc. Increases Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 24.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 154,500 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 30,250 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $9,452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Baugh & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC now owns 4,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Dohj LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Dohj LLC now owns 28,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,725,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026 shares during the last quarter. Tarbox Family Office Inc. grew its position in Coca-Cola by 32.1% during the 1st quarter. Tarbox Family Office Inc. now owns 9,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 2,372 shares during the last quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC now owns 96,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,915,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrive Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $994,000 after purchasing an additional 2,094 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on KO. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Argus raised their price objective 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 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,168,055.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total transaction of $561,812.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,638 shares in the company, valued at $2,129,621.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total transaction of $1,224,645.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,168,055.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 223,665 shares of company stock worth $13,995,465. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $63.61. The company had a trading volume of 4,908,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,022,778. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $64.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $274.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.