Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Has $5.28 Million Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lowered its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 84,855 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,105 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. United Bank raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 65.4% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 80,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,813,000 after purchasing an additional 31,979 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at about $2,683,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.9% in the third quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,814,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.1% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 4,148,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,138,000 after purchasing an additional 274,961 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.6 %

KO opened at $68.58 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $67.00 and its 200-day moving average is $66.52. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year 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. The company has a market cap of $295.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.76, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted 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 net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. 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 given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

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.