The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Position Lessened by Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC

Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,909 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,005 shares during the quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kiker Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $658,000. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 95,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,968,000 after buying an additional 6,800 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 35.4% in the 4th quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 50,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,122,000 after acquiring an additional 13,110 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 281,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,556,000 after acquiring an additional 15,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 196,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,243,000 after acquiring an additional 50,577 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of KO opened at $69.63 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $66.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.55. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $299.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS 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%. Analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

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.