Buffington Mohr McNeal Lowers Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Buffington Mohr McNeal lowered its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,122 shares of the company’s stock after selling 275 shares during the quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 102,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,288,000 after acquiring an additional 6,637 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 16.7% during the first quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 353,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,634,000 after purchasing an additional 50,489 shares during the last quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 11,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 356,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,830,000 after purchasing an additional 11,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stewart & Patten Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Stewart & Patten Co. LLC now owns 386,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,663,000 after buying an additional 3,659 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of KO stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $63.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,877,389 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,067,504. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $51.55 and a one year high of $64.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $272.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.81.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on KO. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Barclays lifted their target price 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. Argus upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total transaction of $561,812.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,129,621.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 223,665 shares of company stock worth $13,995,465 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.