Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Acquires 9,050 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 124,601 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,050 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $7,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.00.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $59.51. 10,154,163 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,042,312. The stock has a market capitalization of $256.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.42. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $64.99.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was 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 $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola 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.