The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp decreased its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,693,780 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,530 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $99,815,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,503,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950,146 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,501,789,000 after buying an additional 2,464,618 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised 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 buying an additional 2,040,664 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,845,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,446,822,000 after buying an additional 1,963,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 13,804,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,949,500 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO stock traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $62.17. The company had a trading volume of 11,628,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,782,690. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $64.25. The company has a market capitalization of $268.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.24 and a 200-day moving average of $59.12.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742 in the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on KO shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.27.

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.