Miracle Mile Advisors LLC Lowers Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC cut its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 85,959 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,560 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $6,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,831,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Tradition Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 23,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 275,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 440,664 shares of company stock valued at $31,730,532. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO opened at $71.37 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $60.62 and a twelve month high of $74.38. The company has a market capitalization of $307.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $71.39 and a 200 day moving average of $67.63.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.81.

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.