The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Private Portfolio Partners LLC

Private Portfolio Partners LLC reduced its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,396 shares of the company’s stock after selling 409 shares during the quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on KO shares. DZ Bank 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO opened at $71.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $309.21 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $68.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.39. 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 one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.