Norden Group LLC Trims Stake in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Norden Group LLC cut its holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 41,671 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,244 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $2,764,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in CocaCola by 1.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 367,441,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,996,519,000 after purchasing an additional 6,241,163 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CocaCola in the second quarter worth about $3,846,270,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 6.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 30,889,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,212,300,000 after buying an additional 1,794,561 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 27,281,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,930,170,000 after buying an additional 285,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of CocaCola by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,328,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,791,962,000 after acquiring an additional 2,497,585 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of KO stock opened at $69.99 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.42. CocaCola Company has a 52 week low of $60.62 and a 52 week high of $74.38. The stock has a market cap of $301.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.18, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter. CocaCola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 27.34%.The firm had revenue of $11.40 billion during the quarter. Analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. CocaCola’s payout ratio is presently 67.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, Director Max R. Levchin purchased 7,206 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $69.87 per share, with a total value of $503,483.22. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 14,267 shares in the company, valued at $996,835.29. This trade represents a 102.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 13,548 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.93, for a total transaction of $947,411.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,638,109.25. This trade represents a 26.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 225,252 shares of company stock worth $15,953,007. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on KO. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of CocaCola from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $79.08.

CocaCola Profile

The Coca‑Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a global beverage manufacturer, marketer and distributor best known for its flagship Coca‑Cola soda. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company develops and sells concentrates, syrups and finished beverages across a broad portfolio of brands. Its product range spans sparkling soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready‑to‑drink teas and coffees, and other still beverages, marketed under both global and regional brand names.

Coca‑Cola’s brand portfolio includes widely recognized names such as Coca‑Cola, Diet Coke, Coca‑Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid, Powerade and Dasani, and in recent years the company has expanded into the coffee and premium beverage categories through acquisitions such as Costa Coffee.