Northcape Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,576 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Northcape Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 44,069 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,576 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Avion Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 64.8% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 36.1% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $61.76. 19,343,326 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,053,786. The company’s fifty day moving average is $60.17 and its 200-day moving average is $58.96. 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 $266.26 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $64.69.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 323,107 shares of company stock valued at $19,657,742 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.