The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Sovereign Financial Group Inc.

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,051 shares of the company’s stock after selling 934 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Elk River Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $639,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 8,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.23 on Wednesday, reaching $62.85. The stock had a trading volume of 10,301,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,879,216. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $51.55 and a fifty-two week high of $64.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $60.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $270.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 380,405 shares of company stock worth $23,209,645. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KO. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.27.

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.