Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 8,810 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 893,192 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,810 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $55,610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. InvesTrust bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $5,463,000. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 80,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,018,000 after purchasing an additional 4,317 shares in the last quarter. Park National Corp OH lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 465,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,991,000 after purchasing an additional 67,604 shares in the last quarter. One Wealth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $219,000. Finally, Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $455,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Hsbc Global Res raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Coca-Cola in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.60.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $60.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. 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 $62.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, 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 available through this link. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.