Evercore Wealth Management LLC Sells 22,522 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Evercore Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,775 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,522 shares during the quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $9,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 2,069 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 25.0% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 17,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.4% in the third quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 182,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,116,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the period. Aldebaran Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 11,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $842,000 after buying an additional 2,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthquest Corp bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth about $412,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on KO shares. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.06.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE KO opened at $73.92 on Wednesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $59.84 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $70.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $318.12 billion, a PE ratio of 29.93, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.