The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Holdings Raised by Naviter Wealth LLC

Naviter Wealth LLC boosted its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 50.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,192 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,400 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth $204,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter valued at about $94,000. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 102,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,288,000 after buying an additional 6,637 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 353,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,634,000 after buying an additional 50,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.7% in the first quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 11,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $681,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on KO. StockNews.com lowered Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.83.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $63.14. 8,877,389 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,067,504. The company has a market cap of $272.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $51.55 and a fifty-two week high of $64.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.81.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total transaction of $5,042,744.94. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 218,880 shares in the company, valued at $13,644,979.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total transaction of $5,042,744.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,644,979.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 223,665 shares of company stock worth $13,995,465 over the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.