Lbp Am Sa Cuts Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Lbp Am Sa cut its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 61.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 112,674 shares of the company’s stock after selling 180,440 shares during the period. Lbp Am Sa’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $7,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $500,192,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at about $269,382,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.7 %

Coca-Cola stock opened at $69.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $297.47 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $66.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on KO. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.