Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Takes Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 5,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $323,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 213.3% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Retirement Group LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, 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. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, 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 dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.09.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of KO stock traded up $1.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $60.17. The company had a trading volume of 20,769,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,878,950. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.94 and a 200 day moving average of $58.56. 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 firm has a market cap of $259.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $51.55 and a 1-year high of $64.99.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 78.23%.

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.