The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Holdings Decreased by Verum Partners LLC

Verum Partners LLC trimmed its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 46.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,750 shares of the company’s stock after selling 54,240 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola makes up approximately 1.4% of Verum Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Verum Partners LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,639,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth $77,000. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 12,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $758,000 after buying an additional 1,754 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 149,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,255,000 after purchasing an additional 43,680 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 385.3% in the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 19,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,180,000 after purchasing an additional 15,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 11.9% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,840,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,115,000 after purchasing an additional 301,804 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:KO traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $61.03. The company had a trading volume of 12,378,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,203,054. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $51.55 and a 1-year high of $64.99. The firm has a market cap of $263.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.30.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The business had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KO. Barclays raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Citigroup raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.00.

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.