GW&K Investment Management LLC Sells 17,564 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

GW&K Investment Management LLC lowered its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 420,999 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,564 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $24,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KO. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.27.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value of $561,812.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,129,621.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total transaction of $561,812.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,129,621.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 446,577 shares of company stock valued at $27,385,816 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE:KO traded down $0.02 on Wednesday, reaching $62.89. 816,752 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,402,799. The firm has a market cap of $270.93 billion, a PE ratio of 25.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.80. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $51.55 and a 12 month high of $63.76.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

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.