Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Reduces Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc lowered its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,909 shares of the company’s stock after selling 891 shares during the period. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $3,941,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,533,008.09. This represents a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $71.35 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $307.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.95.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

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.