The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Stake Lessened by Hemenway Trust Co LLC

Hemenway Trust Co LLC decreased its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,854 shares of the company’s stock after selling 540 shares during the period. Hemenway Trust Co LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 17,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Weaver Consulting Group grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 4,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 10.0% during the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 93,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,741,000 after purchasing an additional 8,548 shares during the period. Finally, Wexford Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 33.0% during the third quarter. Wexford Capital LP now owns 14,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 3,503 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KO. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $69.87 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.95. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $300.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.29, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. On average, 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

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.