The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by CORDA Investment Management LLC.

CORDA Investment Management LLC. cut its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 446,513 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,085 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola comprises 2.2% of CORDA Investment Management LLC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. CORDA Investment Management LLC.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $27,800,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 10,484,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $652,767,000 after purchasing an additional 783,161 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 18,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. Motiv8 Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC now owns 20,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,246,000 after buying an additional 5,045 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 17,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,073,000 after buying an additional 946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 9,001.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 675,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,029,000 after buying an additional 667,640 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.2 %

KO stock opened at $70.93 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $305.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $64.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.82.

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.