The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 360,086,386 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,949,744 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.08% of Coca-Cola worth $22,418,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after buying an additional 11,206,995 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,005,000 after buying an additional 2,966,964 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,885,000 after buying an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,990,407,000 after buying an additional 1,609,565 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO stock opened at $68.58 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $67.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53. The company has a market capitalization of $295.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This trade 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 sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.