Ardevora Asset Management LLP Trims Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Ardevora Asset Management LLP lowered its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 47.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 277,640 shares of the company’s stock after selling 255,370 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola makes up about 1.5% of Ardevora Asset Management LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Ardevora Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $16,361,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,503,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950,146 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,501,789,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464,618 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 103,297.9% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 57,734,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,672,479,000 after purchasing an additional 57,678,466 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $2,937,315,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,514,234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040,664 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at $8,602,980. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KO. Barclays increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.09.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE KO traded up $1.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $60.17. The company had a trading volume of 21,207,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,594,415. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $59.94 and its 200 day moving average is $58.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $51.55 and a fifty-two week high of $64.99. The company has a market capitalization of $259.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The company had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.23%.

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.