Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,150 shares of the company’s stock after selling 375 shares during the quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $982,000 after buying an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.5% during the first quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,252,000 after acquiring an additional 756 shares during the period. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 40.3% during the first quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 3,126 shares during the period. Mainsail Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 7.6% during the first quarter. Mainsail Financial Group LLC now owns 14,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,062,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth approximately $262,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Cfra Research raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.4%

Coca-Cola stock opened at $72.03 on Thursday. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38. 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 company has a market capitalization of $310.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.16, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.74.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985. 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.