Viawealth LLC Cuts Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Viawealth LLC decreased its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,458 shares of the company’s stock after selling 755 shares during the period. Viawealth LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $589,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 691 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $69.33 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.53. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $298.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on KO. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

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.