Magellan Asset Management Ltd Decreases Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Magellan Asset Management Ltd cut its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 46,730 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,722 shares during the quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,664,005,000 after acquiring an additional 2,966,964 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,402,151,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after buying an additional 6,118,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after buying an additional 4,013,996 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE KO opened at $71.46 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $68.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.42. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $307.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.93, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on KO. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on 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. reduced their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.