Wright Investors Service Inc. Has $4.13 Million Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Wright Investors Service Inc. cut its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,021 shares of the company’s stock after selling 952 shares during the period. Coca-Cola accounts for 1.2% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised 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 buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. 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.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.18.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE KO traded up $0.33 during trading on Thursday, hitting $58.84. 2,706,525 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,664,893. The business’s fifty day moving average is $59.94 and its 200 day moving average is $58.52. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $51.55 and a fifty-two week high of $64.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $253.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its 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. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The company had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $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.