Whittier Trust Co. Sells 1,773 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Whittier Trust Co. reduced its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 191,723 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,773 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $11,937,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,680,205,000 after buying an additional 11,206,995 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,664,005,000 after acquiring an additional 2,966,964 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,885,000 after acquiring an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 6.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,990,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609,565 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:KO opened at $69.63 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.55. The firm has a market cap of $299.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. On average, equities 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola 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.