The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Providence Wealth Advisors LLC

Providence Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,559 shares of the company’s stock after selling 525 shares during the period. Coca-Cola comprises 1.3% of Providence Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $500,192,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Coca-Cola by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 15,266,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $942,736,000 after buying an additional 1,792,879 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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 report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $70.02 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The company has a market cap of $301.32 billion, a PE ratio of 28.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase 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 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

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.