Members Capital Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Members Capital Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 91.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,319 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,447 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola accounts for approximately 0.6% of Members Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Members Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 91,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,418,000 after buying an additional 4,720 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 3,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $1,198,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 86,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fountainhead AM LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Fountainhead AM LLC now owns 3,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.09.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO traded up $0.91 on Wednesday, hitting $61.55. 19,515,863 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,970,263. The firm has a market capitalization of $265.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.74. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $51.55 and a 1-year high of $64.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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. Insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.