The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC reduced its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 305,110 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,925 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $18,996,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,402,151,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $500,192,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,566,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,529,537,000 after buying an additional 3,791,300 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on KO shares. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 8th. DZ Bank raised 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $71.89 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $309.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.10, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.95. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.51 dividend. 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 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.