The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,171,471 shares of the company’s stock after selling 253,249 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.35% of Coca-Cola worth $965,689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 3.0% in the second quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,207,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the period. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth $65,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.9% during the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 209,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,336,000 after buying an additional 5,903 shares during the period. Finally, Quilter Plc grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.0% in the second quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,369,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,172,000 after buying an additional 39,902 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 974,715 shares of company stock worth $579,704,927. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.73.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $71.41 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $51.55 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.95. The stock has a market cap of $307.63 billion, a PE ratio of 28.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The company had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

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.