Waverton Investment Management Ltd Decreases Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Waverton Investment Management Ltd lessened its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 8.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 143,992 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,967 shares during the quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $10,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,016,023,000 after purchasing an additional 8,733,326 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,964,850 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $188,448,000. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $157,087,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 7,006.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,478,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,443,612 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 40,334 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.54, for a total transaction of $2,804,826.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,150,619.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 42,397 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $2,968,637.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 40,334 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.54, for a total value of $2,804,826.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,150,619.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 203,748 shares of company stock valued at $14,274,431 over the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KO. StockNews.com lowered Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Hsbc Global Res raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.80.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:KO opened at $63.37 on Tuesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $56.60 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The stock has a market cap of $272.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.19, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average of $69.56 and a 200-day moving average of $66.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

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.