Ellis Investment Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Ellis Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,430 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,648 shares during the quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $355,000. Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 129.3% during the 2nd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 48,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,134,000 after acquiring an additional 27,565 shares during the period. Lynch & Associates IN increased its position in Coca-Cola by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Lynch & Associates IN now owns 102,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,509,000 after purchasing an additional 2,020 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.6% in the second quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,014,000 after buying an additional 2,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kerusso Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at about $2,066,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO traded down $0.03 on Friday, reaching $71.14. The stock had a trading volume of 17,485,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,186,163. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $67.48 and a 200-day moving average of $63.56. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $51.55 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The company has a market capitalization of $306.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KO. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com cut Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,968,095. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total transaction of $5,042,744.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares in the company, valued at $13,644,979.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,968,095. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,074,910 shares of company stock worth $585,972,318. Corporate 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.