Acadian Asset Management LLC Lowers Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Acadian Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 7.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,660,388 shares of the company’s stock after selling 131,590 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $101,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth $28,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on KO shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total transaction of $5,042,744.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,644,979.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 841,588 shares of company stock valued at $568,972,027 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE KO traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $65.29. The company had a trading volume of 13,775,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,171,430. The business’s 50-day moving average is $63.23 and its 200-day moving average is $61.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $281.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $65.81.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.60%.

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.