Wallace Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Wallace Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,583 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola comprises about 0.7% of Wallace Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Wallace Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 462,407 shares of company stock worth $32,990,056. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $71.89 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.83. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $60.62 and a 52 week high of $74.38. The stock has a market cap of $309.43 billion, a PE ratio of 29.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.59.

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.