Kovack Advisors Inc. Purchases 1,240 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,260 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the quarter. 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 (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on KO shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.83.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:KO traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $63.33. 9,154,198 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,000,689. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $62.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.85. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $64.36. The firm has a market capitalization 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.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion for 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%. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares in the company, valued at $10,358,962.93. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total transaction of $1,224,645.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,168,055.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 223,665 shares of company stock worth $13,995,465 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.