Kestra Advisory Services LLC Sells 263,763 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Kestra Advisory Services LLC lowered its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 33.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 527,297 shares of the company’s stock after selling 263,763 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $32,830,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KO. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE KO opened at $69.16 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $66.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $297.47 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value 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 represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.