GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC Decreases Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lowered its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 19.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 22,218 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,421 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.00.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.4%

KO stock opened at $72.03 on Thursday. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $60.62 and a 12 month high of $74.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.02 billion, a PE ratio of 29.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The company’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

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.