The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Howe & Rusling Inc.

Howe & Rusling Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 161,661 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,070 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $9,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $3,501,789,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464,618 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,514,234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040,664 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,963,963 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,950,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake 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 valued at $813,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,949,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the business’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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the transaction, 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 hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the business’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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 323,107 shares of company stock valued at $19,657,742. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.18.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:KO traded up $0.42 on Wednesday, reaching $62.19. The company had a trading volume of 10,750,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,000,279. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $64.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $268.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

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.