AdvisorShares Investments LLC Purchases Shares of 6,700 The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 6,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.8 %

KO stock opened at $72.37 on Wednesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38. The business’s 50-day moving average is $70.86 and its 200 day moving average is $66.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market cap of $311.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.30, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.06.

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.