Financial Perspectives Inc Lowers Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Financial Perspectives Inc lowered its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 21.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,437 shares of the company’s stock after selling 402 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $88,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,503,484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950,146 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,808,056,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 40,564,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,390,448,000 after purchasing an additional 2,893,061 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,171,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $894,028,000 after buying an additional 814,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,337,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $890,866,000 after buying an additional 378,447 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total transaction of $561,812.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,129,621.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Henrique Braun sold 57,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.08, for a total value of $3,614,357.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,309,555.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,129,621.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 223,665 shares of company stock valued at $13,995,465. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on KO. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.83.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $63.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,154,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,000,689. The stock has a market capitalization of $272.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.59. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $51.55 and a one year high of $64.36. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.86.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.