Islay Capital Management LLC Sells 565 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Islay Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 30.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 565 shares during the quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $81,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KO. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 4.5 %

Coca-Cola stock opened at $69.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $68.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.45. The company has a market capitalization of $300.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

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%. 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 was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

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.