Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC Has $13.13 Million Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC reduced its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 210,939 shares of the company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $13,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MilWealth Group LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 462,407 shares of company stock valued at $32,990,056. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $72.01 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $70.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.78. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38. The stock has a market cap of $309.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion for 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 for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. 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.