Center for Financial Planning Inc. Decreases Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Center for Financial Planning Inc. reduced its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,887 shares of the company’s stock after selling 310 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at about $18,383,000. Balentine LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 92.4% in the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,048,000 after purchasing an additional 13,685 shares in the last quarter. Rice Partnership LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,397,000 after purchasing an additional 6,793 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 104.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,351,000 after purchasing an additional 59,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 87.7% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 8,499 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.9 %

Coca-Cola stock opened at $68.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $296.59 billion, a PE ratio of 28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.82.

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.