Fernwood Investment Management LLC Sells 411 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Fernwood Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,773 shares of the company’s stock after selling 411 shares during the quarter. Fernwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Avion Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 64.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 36.1% in the third quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 928 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on KO shares. Barclays increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup increased their price target 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 for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.22.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,602,980. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,602,980. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE KO traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $62.04. 13,417,406 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,989,353. The business’s 50-day moving average is $60.12 and its 200-day moving average is $58.89. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $64.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $267.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. 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. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 78.23%.

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.