Occidental Asset Management LLC Cuts Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Occidental Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,941 shares of the company’s stock after selling 415 shares during the quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KO. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 16.7% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 12,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $758,000 after buying an additional 1,754 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.4% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 149,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,255,000 after buying an additional 43,680 shares during the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 385.3% in the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 19,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,180,000 after purchasing an additional 15,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Coca-Cola by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,840,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,115,000 after purchasing an additional 301,804 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742 in the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO traded up $0.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $61.18. 13,683,528 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,604,461. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $64.99. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.34. The company has a market cap of $263.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.67, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.00.

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.