Blueprint Investment Partners LLC Lowers Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Blueprint Investment Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 73.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,040 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,156 shares during the quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $68.58 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $67.00 and its 200 day moving average is $66.43. The company has a market capitalization of $295.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.76, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

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.