Western Wealth Management LLC Sells 45,016 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Western Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 68.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,069 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,016 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,727,131,000 after buying an additional 3,811,756 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 462,407 shares of company stock valued at $32,990,056 over the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.0%

KO stock opened at $71.13 on Friday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $71.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.93. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38. The stock has a market cap of $306.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.