The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 111,569 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,133 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $6,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 83,450 shares of the company's stock worth $5,196,000 after purchasing an additional 9,295 shares in the last quarter. Concentric Capital Strategies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $241,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 103,941 shares of the company's stock worth $6,471,000 after buying an additional 2,357 shares in the last quarter. Crestline Management LP grew its position in Coca-Cola by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 191,667 shares of the company's stock worth $11,933,000 after buying an additional 42,804 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advantage Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $530,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of KO traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.62. 11,225,074 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,486,955. The firm has a market cap of $303.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.65. 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 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola 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 given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of a number of research reports. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Cfra Research upgraded Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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 report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.59.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 462,407 shares of company stock valued at $32,990,056 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

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.