Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 952 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Wright Investors Service Inc. lessened its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,021 shares of the company’s stock after selling 952 shares during the period. Coca-Cola comprises 1.2% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth approximately $77,000. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 16.7% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 12,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,754 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.4% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 149,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,255,000 after purchasing an additional 43,680 shares during the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 385.3% during the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 19,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after purchasing an additional 15,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 11.9% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,840,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,115,000 after purchasing an additional 301,804 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO stock traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $58.84. 2,706,525 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,664,893. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $64.99. The stock has a market cap of $253.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.70, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $59.94 and its 200 day moving average is $58.52.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 78.23%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KO. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.18.

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.