Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,038 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,753 shares during the quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $72.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $64.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.52. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its 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 anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders 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 2.82%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Insider Transactions 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sold 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.