The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Stock Position Boosted by ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 121.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 26,641 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,584 shares during the quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cliftonlarsonallen Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Cliftonlarsonallen Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 38,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,393,000 after acquiring an additional 5,836 shares in the last quarter. Alken Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $689,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 27,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,702,000 after buying an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Smith Anglin Financial LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 23,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, Apella Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 10,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on KO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.60.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:KO traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $62.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,061,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,675,761. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.47. The company has a market capitalization of $268.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.17%.

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.