The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Acquired by Defined Financial Planning LLC

Defined Financial Planning LLC lifted its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 8.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,592 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the period. Defined Financial Planning LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $474,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. now owns 4,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tradition Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 187,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of KO opened at $72.03 on Thursday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.74. The stock has a market cap of $310.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Two equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.00.

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.