Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,177 shares of the company’s stock after selling 307 shares during the period. Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,501,789,000 after acquiring an additional 2,464,618 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,514,234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040,664 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,845,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,446,822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963,963 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,503,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 13,804,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742 in the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Two investment 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.22.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO remained flat at $61.74 during midday trading on Friday. 10,994,262 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,842,353. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $51.55 and a 1-year high of $64.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $266.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted 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. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The business had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

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

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.