Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Lowers Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 110,134 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,677 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $6,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,503,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950,146 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $2,808,056,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 40,564,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,390,448,000 after acquiring an additional 2,893,061 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,171,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $894,028,000 after acquiring an additional 814,779 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,337,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $890,866,000 after acquiring an additional 378,447 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total transaction of $5,042,744.94. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,644,979.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total transaction of $5,042,744.94. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,644,979.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total value of $1,224,645.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,168,055.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $62.77. The stock had a trading volume of 28,282,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,836,777. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $270.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $64.36. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $62.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results 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 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

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.