Haverford Financial Services Inc. Sells 6,080 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Haverford Financial Services Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 100,779 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,080 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up approximately 1.9% of Haverford Financial Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Haverford Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $6,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Hara Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 691 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of KO stock opened at $68.58 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.48. 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 $295.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.76, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on KO. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction 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 $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.