Wallace Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Wallace Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 78,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,583 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up 0.7% of Wallace Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Wallace Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Hoey Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Finally, MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised 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. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 462,407 shares of company stock worth $32,990,056 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $71.89 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $70.92 and its 200 day moving average is $66.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market cap of $309.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.11, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $60.62 and a twelve month high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

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.