The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Strategy Asset Managers LLC

Strategy Asset Managers LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,060 shares of the company’s stock after selling 454 shares during the quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rice Partnership LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,397,000 after buying an additional 6,793 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 87.7% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 8,499 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after acquiring an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $1,582,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 222.9% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 192,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,814,000 after purchasing an additional 132,701 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.5 %

KO stock opened at $70.36 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $302.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $67.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KO. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola 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.