The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Avity Investment Management Inc.

Avity Investment Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,666 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,380 shares during the quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on KO shares. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two research 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.81.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO opened at $70.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $305.11 billion, a PE ratio of 28.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.51. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. The company’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 440,664 shares of company stock valued at $31,730,532 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.