The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Bedel Financial Consulting Inc.

Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. trimmed its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 22,678 shares of the company’s stock after selling 367 shares during the quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 431,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,869,000 after acquiring an additional 18,877 shares during the last quarter. Unified Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $344,000. Kelly Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $332,000. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 37,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,327,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silver Coast Investments LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on KO shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of 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, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $72.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $310.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.52.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Coca-Cola Company 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.