Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC Has $7.50 Million Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 120,395 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,607 shares during the quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $7,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at about $129,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Coca-Cola by 9.8% in the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 75,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,443,000 after acquiring an additional 6,700 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at about $1,200,000. Finally, Holistic Planning LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 9.2% in the third quarter. Holistic Planning LLC now owns 5,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $71.52 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The stock has a market cap of $307.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50 day moving average is $65.36 and its 200 day moving average is $66.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Sell-side analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KO. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

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.