Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC Sells 8,708 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC decreased its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,656 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,708 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola makes up approximately 1.6% of Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,275,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% in 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 during the period. United Bank grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 65.4% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 80,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,813,000 after acquiring an additional 31,979 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 40.2% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 13,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $998,000 after acquiring an additional 3,987 shares during the last quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 17.6% in the third quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 7,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $506,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 42.9% in the third quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 6,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,085 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. 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 note on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two 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.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $69.16 on Monday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week 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. The company’s fifty day moving average is $66.18 and its 200-day moving average is $66.54. The company has a market capitalization of $297.47 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its 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 net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 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.