Viawealth LLC Reduces Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Viawealth LLC trimmed its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KOFree Report) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,458 shares of the company’s stock after selling 755 shares during the period. Viawealth LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 691 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO stock opened at $69.33 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.53. 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 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $298.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KOGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Coca-Cola

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the 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. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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