Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Has $6.17 Million Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 104,739 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,885 shares during the period. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $6,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $67,000. Alpha Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $201,000. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 132,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,830,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on KO shares. Citigroup raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.18.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock traded down $0.81 during trading on Friday, reaching $58.24. 4,487,711 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,760,378. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $251.08 billion, a PE ratio of 23.72, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $64.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $60.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 78.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.