Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. Purchases New Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,503,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950,146 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,501,789,000 after buying an additional 2,464,618 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,514,234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040,664 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 8.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,845,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,446,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,963,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 13,804,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $813,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 380,405 shares of company stock worth $23,209,645. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $62.62. 9,792,168 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,919,606. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $51.55 and a 1-year high of $64.25. The stock has a market cap of $269.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $60.32 and its 200 day moving average is $59.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays upped their price objective 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.27.

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.