Unigestion Holding SA Cuts Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Unigestion Holding SA lessened its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 591,844 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,124 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up approximately 2.1% of Unigestion Holding SA’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $36,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 25.0% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 17,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,258,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 135.6% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 154,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,102,000 after buying an additional 88,929 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 12.2% in the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,453,000 after acquiring an additional 5,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 22.9% in the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 120,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,674,000 after acquiring an additional 22,515 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 4.5 %

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $69.87 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $68.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.42. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $300.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.