Advocate Group LLC Lowers Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Advocate Group LLC lessened its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,867 shares of the company’s stock after selling 278 shares during the period. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KO. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $77,000. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 16.7% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 12,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $758,000 after acquiring an additional 1,754 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 41.4% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 149,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,255,000 after acquiring an additional 43,680 shares during the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 385.3% during the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 19,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 15,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 11.9% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,840,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,115,000 after acquiring an additional 301,804 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $61.18. 13,683,528 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,604,461. The firm has a market cap of $263.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.67, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.34. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $51.55 and a 1-year high of $64.99.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,602,980. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on KO shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.00.

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.