Scott & Selber Inc. Sells 427 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Scott & Selber Inc. reduced its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,975 shares of the company’s stock after selling 427 shares during the period. Scott & Selber Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on KO. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.5 %

KO opened at $72.29 on Tuesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.27, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 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.