Apella Capital LLC Purchases 2,790 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Apella Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 36.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,387 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,790 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $410,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 450,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,549,000 after acquiring an additional 89,139 shares during the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Smart Money Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 4,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $744,000 after acquiring an additional 1,495 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE KO traded up $0.43 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.48. 13,362,912 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,086,158. The firm has a market cap of $295.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $51.55 and a fifty-two week high of $69.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $64.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.89.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,129,621.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 58,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.51, for a total value of $3,981,938.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,074,330.17. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,638 shares in the company, valued at $2,129,621.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 937,334 shares of company stock valued at $575,874,057 over the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on KO shares. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.20.

Coca-Cola 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.