Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 992,307 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 96.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,841 shares of the company’s stock after selling 992,307 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,309,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 39,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 10,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wallace Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.82.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $70.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $305.06 billion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $64.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.50. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

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.