Waverton Investment Management Ltd Trims Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Waverton Investment Management Ltd decreased its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 127,587 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,405 shares during the period. Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $7,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in Coca-Cola by 68.8% during the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 87,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,457,000 after purchasing an additional 35,736 shares during the period. Partners Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $673,000. World Equity Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 20,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $734,000. Finally, Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 66,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,165,000 after buying an additional 1,018 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.82.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $71.37 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The stock has a market cap of $307.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.90, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $63.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.41.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted 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 net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.54%.

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.