The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by VELA Investment Management LLC

VELA Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 19.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,858 shares of the company’s stock after selling 937 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.18.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO traded up $0.11 on Tuesday, reaching $58.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,978,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,683,127. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $251.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $60.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.51. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $64.99.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Company 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.