The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Holdings Decreased by Saratoga Research & Investment Management

Saratoga Research & Investment Management cut its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 94,392 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,313 shares during the period. Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $6,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Wealthquest Corp bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at about $412,000. Aldebaran Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 21.4% in the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 11,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $842,000 after acquiring an additional 2,065 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the third quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 182,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,116,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 46.5% during the 3rd quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 617,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,401,000 after purchasing an additional 196,124 shares during the period. Finally, Second Line Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 8,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Hsbc Global Res raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday. Cfra restated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.50.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of KO stock opened at $62.63 on Thursday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.47 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06. The business’s fifty day moving average is $65.68 and its 200-day moving average is $66.59. The stock has a market cap of $269.80 billion, a PE ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 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.