Kovack Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,020 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,976 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CX Institutional grew its position in Coca-Cola by 107.9% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 90,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,067,000 after acquiring an additional 46,980 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 8,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.8% in the third quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 29,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Stewart & Patten Co. LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 0.9% during the third quarter. Stewart & Patten Co. LLC now owns 377,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,121,000 after buying an additional 3,438 shares during the period. Finally, L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.9% during the third quarter. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP now owns 33,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,877,000 after buying an additional 955 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KO. Barclays increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.22.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO remained flat at $61.74 during mid-day trading on Friday. The company had a trading volume of 10,993,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,996,342. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $60.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $266.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $51.55 and a one year high of $64.69.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The company had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.