Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 18,179 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 577,272 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,179 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $34,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KO. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Avion Wealth grew its position in Coca-Cola by 64.8% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 36.1% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 928 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on KO. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.09.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $60.64. The company had a trading volume of 13,687,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,898,879. The company has a market capitalization of $261.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $64.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $59.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.72.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.23%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742 over the last 90 days. 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.