Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Trims Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC reduced its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 69.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,991 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,142 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KO. FMR LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,680,205,000 after buying an additional 11,206,995 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 18.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company's stock worth $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Coca-Cola by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company's stock worth $1,990,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609,565 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on KO shares. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $70.36. The stock had a trading volume of 17,408,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,889,152. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $302.80 billion, a PE ratio of 28.49, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The stock's 50 day moving average is $67.77 and its 200 day moving average is $66.41.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 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.