Better Money Decisions LLC Trims Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Better Money Decisions LLC lessened its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 15.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,426 shares of the company’s stock after selling 790 shares during the period. Better Money Decisions LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on KO shares. Cfra Research raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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 objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 496,164 shares of company stock worth $35,671,587 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO opened at $71.39 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $71.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.45. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $307.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 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 company had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.60%.

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.