Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC Cuts Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC decreased its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 11.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,536 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,755 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $2,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in CocaCola in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in CocaCola in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in CocaCola in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in CocaCola by 360.0% in the first quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC grew its position in CocaCola by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on KO shares. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Stock Performance

CocaCola stock opened at $70.42 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $71.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.10. CocaCola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38. The company has a market capitalization of $303.11 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.46.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. CocaCola had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 45.49%. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

About CocaCola

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.