Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,771 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,956 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola comprises approximately 1.0% of Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on KO. Citigroup raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO remained flat at $61.74 during mid-day trading on Friday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,994,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,842,353. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $64.69. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $266.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.23%.

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.