Welch Group LLC Boosts Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Welch Group LLC lifted its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 256,665 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,228 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $18,062,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Tradition Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Great Diamond Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 10,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $3,941,055.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,533,008.09. This trade represents a 18.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 229,761 shares of company stock worth $16,474,587 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $71.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $307.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.20.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.81.

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.