PDS Planning Inc Has $3.61 Million Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

PDS Planning Inc lessened its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,048 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,405 shares during the quarter. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 6,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Mystic Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 59.6% in the 4th quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after buying an additional 6,045 shares during the period. Leelyn Smith LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 42,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,644,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 55,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,458,000 after buying an additional 879 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO opened at $70.15 on Tuesday. 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 market capitalization of $301.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s fifty day moving average is $66.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.53. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

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.