BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 259 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,632 shares of the company’s stock after selling 259 shares during the period. BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 46.4% during the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 5,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 17.1% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 140,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,126,000 after purchasing an additional 20,600 shares during the period. Suvretta Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.0% in the third quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 588,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,319,000 after purchasing an additional 28,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWS Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, 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 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE KO opened at $70.36 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $67.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market cap of $302.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

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.