Commerce Bank Sells 7,830 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Commerce Bank cut its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 494,062 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,830 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $29,115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,808,056,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 11,138.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,977,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,343,000 after acquiring an additional 4,933,527 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,501,789,000 after acquiring an additional 2,464,618 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,734,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $583,659,000 after acquiring an additional 2,408,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,514,234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040,664 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $62.21. The company had a trading volume of 2,845,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,327,729. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $61.03 and its 200 day moving average is $59.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.00 billion, a PE ratio of 24.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $63.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. UBS Group upped 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. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.58.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 199,389 shares of company stock worth $12,322,179. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.