Edgar Lomax Co. VA Lowers Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Edgar Lomax Co. VA reduced its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 884,150 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,960 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up approximately 3.5% of Edgar Lomax Co. VA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Edgar Lomax Co. VA’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $55,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after buying an additional 12,222,885 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on KO shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.59.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:KO opened at $72.99 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $70.39 and its 200 day moving average is $66.42. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $59.00 and a 12 month high of $73.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $314.13 billion, a PE ratio of 29.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.