The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Stake Boosted by West Paces Advisors Inc.

West Paces Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,046 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,519 shares during the period. Coca-Cola accounts for 2.5% of West Paces Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. West Paces Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $11,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 19.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 83,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,961,000 after purchasing an additional 13,261 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at $639,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 42,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,074,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 62,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,460,000 after purchasing an additional 7,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at $341,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Monday. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 275,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985 over the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of KO opened at $71.76 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $308.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $60.62 and a 52 week high of $74.38.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

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

Coca-Cola 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.