VSM Wealth Advisory LLC Buys Shares of 5,404 The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 5,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $336,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Compass Ion Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 10,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $648,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. Enhancing Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $761,000. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 761,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,413,000 after purchasing an additional 23,002 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 252,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,714,000 after purchasing an additional 10,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $15,887,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $69.34 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $66.54 and its 200-day moving average is $66.51. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $298.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.07, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

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.