Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 62,007,129 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,131,841 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up approximately 0.9% of Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.43% of Coca-Cola worth $3,622,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley grew its position in 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. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,514,234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040,664 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 1,963,963 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $813,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 12,417,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $731,764,000 after buying an additional 88,290 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of KO traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $62.74. 3,053,544 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,795,274. The company has a market cap of $270.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $51.55 and a fifty-two week high of $64.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.32 and its 200-day moving average is $59.30.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. 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 other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 380,405 shares of company stock valued at $23,209,645. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.27.

Coca-Cola 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.