Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC lowered its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,145 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,924 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of KO. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 167,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,859,000 after acquiring an additional 3,675 shares in the last quarter. Investment House LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 24,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,434,000 after buying an additional 849 shares in the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 87,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,171,000 after acquiring an additional 6,930 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO traded down $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $61.98. 4,308,417 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,867,907. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $60.17 and a 200-day moving average of $58.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $267.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $51.55 and a 12 month high of $64.69.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

Insider Activity 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 shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.22.

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.