FreeGulliver LLC Cuts Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

FreeGulliver LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,681 shares of the company’s stock after selling 733 shares during the period. Coca-Cola comprises about 0.6% of FreeGulliver LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. FreeGulliver LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $500,192,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake 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 worth $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth about $269,382,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on KO. Barclays lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO opened at $69.34 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $66.54 and its 200-day moving average is $66.51. The stock has a market cap of $298.21 billion, a PE ratio of 28.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

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.