JT Stratford LLC Sells 366 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

JT Stratford LLC lessened its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 20,707 shares of the company’s stock after selling 366 shares during the quarter. JT Stratford LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $697,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tradition Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO opened at $71.84 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $60.62 and a twelve month high of $74.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $71.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.89. The firm has a market cap of $309.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. 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 subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 462,407 shares of company stock worth $32,990,056 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola 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.