Acadian Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Acadian Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,631,595 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,793 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $103,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $2,808,056,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,016,023,000 after buying an additional 8,733,326 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 11,127.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,972,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,043,000 after buying an additional 4,928,441 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $193,342,000. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 32.8% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,032,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,051,000 after acquiring an additional 2,973,234 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total transaction of $5,042,744.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,644,979.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,074,910 shares of company stock valued at $585,972,318 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Cfra reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday. Argus upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.73.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $71.14 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $67.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.56. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $306.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The business had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

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.