The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Holdings Decreased by Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC

Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,657 shares of the company’s stock after selling 759 shares during the quarter. Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $2,808,056,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 11,138.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,977,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,343,000 after buying an additional 4,933,527 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Coca-Cola by 4.1% during 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 period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Coca-Cola by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,734,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $583,659,000 after buying an additional 2,408,063 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Coca-Cola by 4.8% during 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on KO shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Argus upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.58.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.5 %

KO traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $62.68. The stock had a trading volume of 2,897,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,363,899. The stock has a market capitalization of $270.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.57. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.83. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $63.76.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Henrique Braun sold 57,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.08, for a total value of $3,614,357.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,309,555.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Henrique Braun sold 57,298 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.08, for a total value of $3,614,357.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,309,555.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola 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. Insiders have sold 199,389 shares of company stock worth $12,322,179 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.