Avanza Fonder AB Sells 46,260 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Avanza Fonder AB reduced its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 11.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 358,374 shares of the company’s stock after selling 46,260 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola comprises approximately 0.8% of Avanza Fonder AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $25,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.3% during the first quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 118,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,488,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the period. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 11.5% during the first quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 10,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,090 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.8% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 3,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares during the period. Accurate Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 10.2% during the first quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,414 shares during the period. Finally, Ayrshire Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 59.3% during the first quarter. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC now owns 8,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $577,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Monday. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $71.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $71.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.68. 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 firm has a market cap of $308.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.05, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $60.62 and a 12 month high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The firm 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 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.