Scott & Selber Inc. Sells 427 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Scott & Selber Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,975 shares of the company’s stock after selling 427 shares during the period. Scott & Selber Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $72.29 on Tuesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.52. The firm has a market cap of $310.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

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.