Waverly Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Waverly Advisors LLC grew its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 15.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 413,684 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,037 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $25,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hoey Investments Inc. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 41.9% during 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 period. Finally, MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the subject of several analyst reports. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 462,407 shares of company stock worth $32,990,056 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $71.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $309.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.11, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $70.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.83.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

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.