The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Position Lowered by Zacks Investment Management

Zacks Investment Management lessened its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,208,565 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,137 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $75,245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. DZ Bank upgraded 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. Cfra Research upgraded Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $74.59.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded up $1.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $72.99. The company had a trading volume of 20,745,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,409,159. The stock has a market capitalization of $314.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $59.00 and a 52-week high of $73.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $70.39 and a 200 day moving average of $66.42.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, equities analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $3,941,055.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,533,008.09. This represents a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Coca-Cola

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.