The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 20.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,519,269 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,611,280 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,588,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 13,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $978,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $826,000 after buying an additional 1,229 shares during the period. Bristlecone Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth about $224,000. Finally, Custom Index Systems LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen 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 Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.82.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 1.1 %

KO stock opened at $70.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $304.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.42.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.54%.

Coca-Cola Company 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.