Sapient Capital LLC Reduces Position in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Sapient Capital LLC lessened its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 301,586 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,003 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $20,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in CocaCola by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 367,441,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,996,519,000 after buying an additional 6,241,163 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,846,270,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 6.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 30,889,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,212,300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,794,561 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 27,281,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,930,170,000 after acquiring an additional 285,794 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 10.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,328,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,791,962,000 after purchasing an additional 2,497,585 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Henrique Braun sold 40,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $2,864,862.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 62,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,441,707.53. The trade was a 39.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 13,548 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.93, for a total transaction of $947,411.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at $2,638,109.25. This represents a 26.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 225,252 shares of company stock valued at $15,953,007. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $69.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. CocaCola Company has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $70.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.39. The company has a market capitalization of $300.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.39.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter. CocaCola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 27.34%.The business had revenue of $11.40 billion during the quarter. Analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on KO shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of CocaCola from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on CocaCola from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.08.

About CocaCola

The Coca?Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a global beverage manufacturer, marketer and distributor best known for its flagship Coca?Cola soda. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company develops and sells concentrates, syrups and finished beverages across a broad portfolio of brands. Its product range spans sparkling soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready?to?drink teas and coffees, and other still beverages, marketed under both global and regional brand names.

Coca?Cola’s brand portfolio includes widely recognized names such as Coca?Cola, Diet Coke, Coca?Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid, Powerade and Dasani, and in recent years the company has expanded into the coffee and premium beverage categories through acquisitions such as Costa Coffee.