The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lowered its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,443 shares of the company’s stock after selling 266 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,503,484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950,146 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,501,789,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464,618 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,514,234,000 after buying an additional 2,040,664 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,845,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,446,822,000 after buying an additional 1,963,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 13,804,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,949,500 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 323,107 shares of company stock valued at $19,657,742 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.27.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.3 %

KO stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $62.18. 11,627,983 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,021,238. The stock has a market capitalization of $268.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $60.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.06. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $64.25.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

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.