Traynor Capital Management Inc. Purchases 577 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Traynor Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,201 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 577 shares during the period. Traynor Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its position in Coca-Cola by 65.0% during the first quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $65.59 on Wednesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $55.42 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $282.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s 50-day moving average is $70.54 and its 200 day moving average is $66.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total transaction of $1,274,333.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,398,603.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total transaction of $1,274,333.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,398,603.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 319,005 shares of company stock worth $22,198,147 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.80.

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.