The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by West Oak Capital LLC

West Oak Capital LLC trimmed its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,892 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.00.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Thursday, hitting $61.11. The company had a trading volume of 2,727,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,010,844. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $51.55 and a 1-year high of $64.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $60.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $263.46 billion, a PE ratio of 24.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 78.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.