The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC reduced its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 8.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,150 shares of the company’s stock after selling 375 shares during the period. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.6% in the first quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $982,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.5% during the first quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 40.3% during the first quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 3,126 shares during the last quarter. Mainsail Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.6% during the first quarter. Mainsail Financial Group LLC now owns 14,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth approximately $262,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KO. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.4%

KO stock opened at $72.03 on Thursday. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38. The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.74. The stock has a market capitalization 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 earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. 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 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985. Company 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.