Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Coca-Cola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 5.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,286 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,803 shares during the period. Coca-Cola Company (The) accounts for about 0.8% of Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola Company (The) were worth $1,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Shell Asset Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola Company (The) by 0.5% in the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 876,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,216,000 after buying an additional 4,101 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola Company (The) by 13.4% in the first quarter. Guinness Asset Management Ltd now owns 232,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,886,000 after buying an additional 27,560 shares during the last quarter.
Montecito Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola Company (The) by 90.2% in the first quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 127,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,394,000 after buying an additional 60,258 shares during the last quarter. Marathon Asset Management LLP increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola Company (The) by 7.3% in the first quarter. Marathon Asset Management LLP now owns 2,699,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,439,000 after buying an additional 184,589 shares during the last quarter.
Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola Company (The) by 3.3% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,668,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,661,000 after buying an additional 85,130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.80% of the company’s stock.
Coca-Cola Company (KO) traded down 0.41% on Friday, reaching $45.67. The company had a trading volume of 10,879,794 shares. Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $39.88 and a one year high of $46.43. The stock has a market cap of $194.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.23 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50-day moving average of $45.25 and a 200 day moving average of $43.72.
Coca-Cola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Coca-Cola Company (The) had a return on equity of 34.53% and a net margin of 10.68%. The company had revenue of $9.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Coca-Cola Company will post $1.90 EPS for the current year.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Coca-Cola Company (The)’s dividend payout ratio is currently 154.17%.
KO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Coca-Cola Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Jefferies Group LLC set a $47.00 price objective on Coca-Cola Company (The) and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. UBS AG raised their price objective on Coca-Cola Company (The) from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Deutsche Bank AG restated a “hold” rating and set a $46.00 price objective (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Coca-Cola Company (The) in a research note on Thursday, July 27th.
Finally, Vetr upgraded Coca-Cola Company (The) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.81 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.70.
In other news, insider Francisco Crespo sold 7,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.01, for a total value of $354,277.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,677.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC.
Also, insider Irial Finan sold 354,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $15,936,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 780,258 shares in the company, valued at $35,111,610. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 750,263 shares of company stock worth $34,134,363. Corporate insiders own 1.51% of the company’s stock.
By: Danessa Lincoln (The Markets Daily).
Photo: The Coca-Cola Company.
Review: Emerging Market Formulations & Research Unit, Flagship Records.