The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD cut its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,365,180 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,899,004 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 1.17% of Coca-Cola worth $3,135,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $73.92 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $318.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.43. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $59.84 and a 52-week high of $74.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.06.

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.