The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Brookstone Capital Management

Brookstone Capital Management lessened its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO – Get Rating) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,253 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,489 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,258,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,349,737,000 after acquiring an additional 3,864,004 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 1.7% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 301,952,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,915,357,000 after buying an additional 4,994,047 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 171,570,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,685,693,000 after buying an additional 885,816 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 20.0% during the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 99,695,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,271,819,000 after buying an additional 16,606,701 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 2.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 51,570,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,197,397,000 after buying an additional 1,301,902 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on KO shares. Citigroup started coverage on Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $67.00 target price on Coca-Cola in a research note on Tuesday, February 14th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group set a $70.00 target price on Coca-Cola in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.70.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 46,421 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.50, for a total value of $2,808,470.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 592,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,849,033. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 46,421 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.50, for a total value of $2,808,470.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 592,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,849,033. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian John Smith sold 126,972 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.07, for a total value of $7,881,152.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 116,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,210,547.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 282,268 shares of company stock valued at $17,137,823 over the last three months. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $60.02 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $60.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.39. The stock has a market cap of $259.67 billion, a PE ratio of 27.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.53. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $54.01 and a 1 year high of $67.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. The firm had revenue of $10.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.92 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.35% and a net margin of 22.19%. Coca-Cola’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 16th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 80.00%.

About Coca-Cola

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The Coca-Cola Co engages in the manufacturing and marketing of non-alcoholic beverages. It operates through the following segments: Europe, Middle East and Africa, Latin America, North America, Asia Pacific, Global Ventures, and Bottling Investments. The company was founded by Asa Griggs Candler on May 8, 1886 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.