Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Has $5.24 Million Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,175 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,455 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.3% in 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. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 39,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,440,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Great Diamond Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 10,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of KO stock opened at $70.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $302.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.49, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $65.18 and a 200-day moving average of $66.58. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Company 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.