Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,622,407 shares of the company’s stock after selling 418,298 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $547,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth $18,383,000. Balentine LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 92.4% during the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,048,000 after buying an additional 13,685 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 457,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,895,000 after buying an additional 21,005 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth $102,604,000. Finally, BDF Gestion purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter worth $7,421,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,968,095. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 203,748 shares of company stock valued at $14,274,431 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $63.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $274.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.31, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $56.06 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $69.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

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.