Kovack Advisors Inc. Has $2.22 Million Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,260 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 54,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,055,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the period. Lakeshore Financial Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at $691,000. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 7.7% during the third quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 198,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,123,000 after acquiring an additional 9,085 shares during the period. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 25,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,425,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value of $561,812.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,638 shares in the company, valued at $2,129,621.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total value of $5,042,744.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,644,979.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total transaction of $561,812.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,129,621.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 223,665 shares of company stock worth $13,995,465. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO traded up $0.18 on Thursday, hitting $63.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,154,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,000,689. The firm has a market cap of $272.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.85. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $51.55 and a 12 month high of $64.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on KO. UBS Group raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.83.

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.