Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Has $253,000 Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC cut its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 69.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,991 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,142 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 691 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.1 %

Coca-Cola stock opened at $68.85 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.40. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $296.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.