Cornerstone Enterprises LLC Sells 39,911 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Cornerstone Enterprises LLC lessened its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 92.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,464 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39,911 shares during the period. Coca-Cola accounts for 0.1% of Cornerstone Enterprises LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Cornerstone Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $71.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.95. The company has a market cap of $307.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $69.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.36.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group increased their price objective 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 shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

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.