Sapient Capital LLC Trims Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Sapient Capital LLC lowered its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 315,094 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,919 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $22,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,727,131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,811,756 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KO. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cfra Research upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO opened at $72.03 on Thursday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $60.62 and a 12 month high of $74.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.02 billion, a PE ratio of 29.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.74.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 81.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.