South Dakota Investment Council Cuts Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 126,488 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,300 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $7,454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.8% during the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 2,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,740 shares during the period. KFG Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.9% during the third quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.1% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 40,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,265,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. Avity Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.0% during the third quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 50,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,802,000 after purchasing an additional 6,166 shares during the period. Finally, Kessler Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 24.8% during the third quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their target price 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. reduced their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.09.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO traded up $0.81 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $61.45. The stock had a trading volume of 10,868,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,850,498. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $59.98 and its 200 day moving average is $58.72. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $64.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $264.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.52, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,602,980. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

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.