SlateStone Wealth LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 21.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 30,591 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,356 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of KO. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.5% in the third 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,501,789,000 after buying an additional 2,464,618 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,514,234,000 after buying an additional 2,040,664 shares during 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 increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 13,804,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,523,000 after buying an additional 1,949,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,602,980. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at $8,602,980. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.7 %

Coca-Cola stock traded down $0.41 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $60.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,293,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,740,188. The stock has a market capitalization of $259.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $59.98 and its 200 day moving average is $58.72. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $51.55 and a 1-year high of $64.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.09.

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.