Beacon Financial Group Has $4.84 Million Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Beacon Financial Group lessened its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,609 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,086 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 23,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,493,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Cfra Research raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.81.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of KO opened at $71.39 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $307.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $71.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 81.60%.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $3,941,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,533,008.09. The trade was a 18.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 496,164 shares of company stock worth $35,671,587. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.