Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,907 shares of the company’s stock after selling 208 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 103,297.9% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 57,734,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,672,479,000 after buying an additional 57,678,466 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $2,937,315,000. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 79,101,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,031,669,000 after purchasing an additional 10,722,435 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 164.7% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,430,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $868,981,000 after purchasing an additional 8,979,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 61.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,764,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,373,000 after purchasing an additional 4,095,881 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.18.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $58.51 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $59.94 and a 200 day moving average of $58.52. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $51.55 and a 12 month high of $64.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $252.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The company had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.23%.

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.