Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Has $4.11 Million Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. reduced its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 37.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,568 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39,196 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in 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 worth $3,016,023,000 after purchasing an additional 8,733,326 shares during the period. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,337,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $890,866,000 after purchasing an additional 378,447 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 30.5% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,924,000 after buying an additional 2,964,850 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 32.8% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,032,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,051,000 after buying an additional 2,973,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Coca-Cola by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 10,433,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,344,000 after buying an additional 1,417,930 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of KO opened at $71.62 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $51.55 and a one year high of $73.53. The company has a market cap of $308.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. Coca-Cola’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 974,715 shares of company stock valued at $579,704,927. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Cfra reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.07.

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.