Blueprint Investment Partners LLC Sells 11,156 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Blueprint Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 73.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,040 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,156 shares during the quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $1,402,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $110,057,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 43.3% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 794 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Sfmg LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 12,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 2,952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intellus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $242,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $68.58 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $67.00 and its 200 day moving average is $66.43. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the subject of several recent research reports. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.