UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Decreases Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp reduced its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,810 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,601 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of KO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 17.4% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,810,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,977,000 after acquiring an additional 417,353 shares during the period. Cadence Bank grew its position in Coca-Cola by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 70,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,100,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the period. NCP Inc. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 9.2% during the third quarter. NCP Inc. now owns 3,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 325,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,418,000 after purchasing an additional 16,198 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.8 %

KO opened at $70.02 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $67.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.43. The company has a market capitalization of $301.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.35, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.53.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on KO shares. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.