The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Hemenway Trust Co LLC

Hemenway Trust Co LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,854 shares of the company’s stock after selling 540 shares during the period. Hemenway Trust Co LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. raised its position in Coca-Cola by 41.9% in the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO opened at $69.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $300.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $68.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.45. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.95.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Coca-Cola 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.