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

Parallel Advisors LLC lessened its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 83,482 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,296 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its position in Coca-Cola by 71.7% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 1,754,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,239,000 after purchasing an additional 732,709 shares during the last quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 30,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,901,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $158,000. Signature Wealth Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Signature Wealth Management Group now owns 16,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 110,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,905,000 after acquiring an additional 20,578 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $70.15 on Tuesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The company has a market cap of $301.70 billion, a PE ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company has a 50-day moving average of $66.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

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.