WealthTrust Axiom LLC Has $709,000 Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

WealthTrust Axiom LLC raised its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 43.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,029 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,657 shares during the quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $709,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,501,789,000 after acquiring an additional 2,464,618 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,514,234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040,664 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,845,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,446,822,000 after buying an additional 1,963,963 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,503,484,000 after buying an additional 1,950,146 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 13,804,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $813,523,000 after buying an additional 1,949,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO traded down $0.33 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $61.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,707,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,957,568. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $60.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.96. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $51.55 and a 12 month high of $64.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $266.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of Coca-Cola 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 ninety days, insiders sold 323,107 shares of company stock valued at $19,657,742. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.22.

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.