New Covenant Trust Company N.A. Lowers Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

New Covenant Trust Company N.A. lessened its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,167 shares of the company’s stock after selling 202 shares during the quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $258,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,664,005,000 after acquiring an additional 2,966,964 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after acquiring an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 6.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,990,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,609,565 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’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 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO opened at $70.08 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.53. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $301.40 billion, a PE ratio of 28.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen raised 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued 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.

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.