Cannell & Spears LLC Sells 4,728 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Cannell & Spears LLC lessened its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 302,660 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,728 shares during the period. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $18,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 97,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,086,000 after acquiring an additional 10,005 shares during the period. Hoey Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC now owns 163,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,205,000 after purchasing an additional 2,893 shares during the period. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 12,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $758,000 after buying an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 15,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $963,000 after buying an additional 1,414 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KO. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $70.36 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $302.80 billion, a PE ratio of 28.49, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day moving average is $67.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.38. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Coca-Cola Company 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.