Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC decreased its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,979 shares of the company’s stock after selling 635 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings 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 valued at $4,503,484,000 after buying an additional 1,950,146 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,501,789,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464,618 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 8.2% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 13,804,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $813,523,000 after buying an additional 1,949,500 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:KO traded up $0.18 during trading on Monday, hitting $62.35. 9,304,604 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,967,079. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $60.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.19. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $51.55 and a 1-year high of $64.25. The firm has a market cap of $268.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.80, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.