GSA Capital Partners LLP Cuts Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

GSA Capital Partners LLP lowered its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,443 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,167 shares during the quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Cfra reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.36.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $61.73 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $68.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $265.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.51, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52-week low of $56.70 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The business’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,968,095. The trade was a 7.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 18.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 303,748 shares of company stock valued at $20,677,431. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.