The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) is Southeast Asset Advisors LLC’s 8th Largest Position

Southeast Asset Advisors LLC reduced its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 324,465 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,746 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola accounts for approximately 2.5% of Southeast Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $20,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 25.0% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 17,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 22.9% in the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 120,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,674,000 after purchasing an additional 22,515 shares during the period. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.8% in the third quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 68,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,919,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 71.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities 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. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $69.87 on Monday. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.95. The company has a market cap of $300.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio 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.