Montag & Caldwell LLC Sells 56,515 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Montag & Caldwell LLC reduced its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 31.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 123,503 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,515 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola accounts for approximately 1.6% of Montag & Caldwell LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Montag & Caldwell LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $7,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Brown Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,309,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $72.43 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $311.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.95. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $69.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.32.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

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.