The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Cohen Klingenstein LLC

Cohen Klingenstein LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 48.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 52,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 49,200 shares during the period. Cohen Klingenstein LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after buying an additional 11,206,995 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,463,373,000 after buying an additional 1,084,475 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after buying an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,990,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,609,565 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays cut their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Coca-Cola from $82.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $62.76 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $62.71 and its 200-day moving average is $66.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $270.34 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

About Coca-Cola

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.