The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Washington Trust Advisors Inc.

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,188 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,373 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on KO shares. UBS Group raised their price target 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. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.0 %

Coca-Cola stock opened at $70.17 on Thursday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year 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 firm has a market cap of $301.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $65.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.55.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. This is a boost 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 presently 82.59%.

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.