GQG Partners LLC Has $435.65 Million Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

GQG Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 81.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,997,188 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,795,824 shares during the quarter. GQG Partners LLC owned about 0.16% of Coca-Cola worth $435,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.4 %

KO stock opened at $68.97 on Tuesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $296.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $67.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.42.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly 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, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 approximately $24,324,191.46. This trade 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 three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

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.