Edgar Lomax Co. VA Trims Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Edgar Lomax Co. VA trimmed its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 884,150 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,960 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up 3.5% of Edgar Lomax Co. VA’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Edgar Lomax Co. VA’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $55,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.8 %

KO stock opened at $72.99 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $314.13 billion, a PE ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $70.39 and its 200 day moving average is $66.42. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $59.00 and a 12 month high of $73.95.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the company’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 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KO. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.59.

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.