Hartford Financial Management Inc. Cuts Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Hartford Financial Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,447 shares of the company’s stock after selling 961 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KO. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 65.0% in the first quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,968,095. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 40,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.54, for a total value of $2,804,826.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,150,619.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,968,095. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 261,870 shares of company stock valued at $18,256,369. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on KO shares. Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.80.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of KO opened at $65.31 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $281.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.60. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $56.06 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

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.