Park Avenue Securities LLC Buys 16,460 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 19.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,540 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,460 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $7,201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:KO traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $71.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,277,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,806,063. The firm has a market cap of $308.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $60.62 and a 1 year high of $74.38. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $71.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.63.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 business posted $0.72 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 440,664 shares of company stock worth $31,730,532. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.