West Paces Advisors Inc. Purchases 7,519 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 156,046 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,519 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola accounts for about 2.5% of West Paces Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. West Paces Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $11,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock worth $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KO. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Monday. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $76.00.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO traded down $1.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $70.94. The company had a trading volume of 17,424,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,853,808. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.80. 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 company has a market capitalization of $305.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. The company's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 over the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.