The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Wambolt & Associates LLC

Wambolt & Associates LLC trimmed its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 16.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,581 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,108 shares during the quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 6.7% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,792,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,381,000 after acquiring an additional 112,407 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 3,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 121,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,787,000 after buying an additional 4,812 shares during the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 10.8% in the third quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 110,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,201,000 after buying an additional 10,777 shares during the period. Finally, Toroso Investments LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 32.4% in the third quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 250,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,014,000 after buying an additional 61,310 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $63.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,735,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,543,850. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $51.55 and a fifty-two week high of $64.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $274.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.50, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $62.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,129,621.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 822,284 shares of company stock valued at $567,718,040 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price target 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. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. BNP Paribas started coverage on Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Argus boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.83.

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.