Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. Trims Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,650 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Avion Wealth boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 64.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 36.1% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 928 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.27.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 323,107 shares of company stock valued at $19,657,742. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $62.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,628,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,782,690. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $60.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.12. The stock has a market cap of $268.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $51.55 and a 12 month high of $64.25.

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 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 77.60%.

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.