The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Weik Capital Management

Weik Capital Management lowered its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 60,745 shares of the company’s stock after selling 615 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola comprises about 1.5% of Weik Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Weik Capital Management’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 46.4% in the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 5,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602 shares during the period. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 44,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,174,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,194,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,722,000 after buying an additional 364,526 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $70.80 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market cap of $304.70 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.46.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

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.