Columbia Asset Management Trims Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Columbia Asset Management lessened its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 77,429 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,051 shares during the quarter. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $3,402,151,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $500,192,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $71.85 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.39. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market cap of $309.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.09, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on 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 owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on KO. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

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.