GDS Wealth Management Reduces Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

GDS Wealth Management lowered its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,952 shares of the company’s stock after selling 537 shares during the period. GDS Wealth Management’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KO. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,968,095. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 974,715 shares of company stock worth $579,704,927. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.0 %

Coca-Cola stock opened at $72.10 on Tuesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $310.60 billion, a PE ratio of 28.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.04.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.78 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

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.