BLB&B Advisors LLC Sells 1,184 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

BLB&B Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,520 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,184 shares during the quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $3,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in CocaCola in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 360.0% during the first quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. UBS Group upped their price target on CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of CocaCola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.27.

CocaCola Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $70.77 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $304.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.46. CocaCola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $71.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.40.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 45.49%. CocaCola’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 187,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

About CocaCola

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.