Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in CocaCola by 2.7%, owning 368,004 shares valued at approximately $26.36 million as of their latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors have made significant changes to their stakes, with Norges Bank investing over $3.4 billion and Capital International Investors boosting its stake by 96% in the fourth quarter.
• CocaCola declared a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, scheduled for payment on October 1, which translates to an annual dividend of $2.04 and a yield of 2.95%.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 368,004 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 9,570 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $26,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Sage Financial Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in CocaCola during the fourth quarter worth $2,513,000. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 3.3% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 121,279 shares of the company's stock worth $8,686,000 after buying an additional 3,920 shares in the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 848,868 shares of the company's stock worth $52,851,000 after buying an additional 204,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, StoneX Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 80.0% during the fourth quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 51,775 shares of the company's stock worth $3,224,000 after buying an additional 23,009 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of KO stock traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $68.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,378,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,281,738. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.45. CocaCola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $70.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. CocaCola had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 25.89%. The firm had revenue of $12.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's payout ratio is presently 72.34%.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 187,716 shares in the company, valued at $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction 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 owned 205,511 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on KO. Cfra Research raised shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. BNP Paribas reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 target price on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.21.

CocaCola 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.