Valmark Advisers Inc. Boosts Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 98.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,060 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,402 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,184,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KO. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.1% in the third quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 17,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 27.6% in the third quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,424 shares during the period. TFG Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.5% in the third quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 25,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares during the period. Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.1% in the third quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 18,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the period. Finally, Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 10.7% in the third quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock remained flat at $61.74 during midday trading on Friday. 10,994,262 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,842,353. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.82. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $64.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $266.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.90, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 78.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.22.

About Coca-Cola

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.