Capital Investment Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 529,508 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 29,314 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $37,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Hickory Point Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Hickory Point Bank & Trust now owns 10,848 shares of the company's stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the first quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 16,094 shares of the company's stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,892 shares during the period. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at $239,000. Bennett Selby Investments LP grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.0% in the first quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP now owns 12,951 shares of the company's stock valued at $928,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,540 shares of the company's stock worth $7,201,000 after purchasing an additional 16,460 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of KO stock traded up $0.41 on Monday, reaching $71.76. 12,277,550 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,806,078. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $71.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.63. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $60.62 and a 52 week high of $74.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $308.89 billion, a PE ratio of 29.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 81.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on KO shares. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $76.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola 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 value of $4,335,629.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were 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 represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 440,664 shares of company stock valued at $31,730,532. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola 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.