Apriem Advisors Buys 348 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Apriem Advisors boosted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,248 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Apriem Advisors’ holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 39,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Great Diamond Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 10,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Wallace Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KO. Barclays boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.82.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $70.93 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.50. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $305.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted 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 return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. As a group, analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.