Notis McConarty Edward Trims Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Notis McConarty Edward cut its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 35.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,832 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,668 shares during the period. Notis McConarty Edward’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 4.5 %

NYSE KO opened at $69.87 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $300.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.29, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average of $68.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.45.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. This is an increase 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 presently 82.59%.

About Coca-Cola

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.