Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 5,244 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 345,289 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,244 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $20,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 25,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,481,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 107,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,352,000 after buying an additional 18,955 shares during the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $670,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in Coca-Cola by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 303,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,869,000 after buying an additional 3,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 305,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,004,000 after buying an additional 14,386 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on KO shares. Barclays increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the company’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 90 days, insiders sold 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $62.36. 9,309,869 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,967,127. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $60.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.25. The company has a market cap of $268.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.94, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $64.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

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.