Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV Sells 279 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV reduced its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,448 shares of the company’s stock after selling 279 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KO. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of KO stock opened at $70.15 on Tuesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $66.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.53. 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 cap of $301.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced 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%. On average, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KO. TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 in the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola 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.