Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 57.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 221,814 shares of the company’s stock after selling 303,864 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $13,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 1.6 %

KO opened at $68.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $295.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $67.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.52. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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%. Equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

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.