The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Holdings Cut by Citadel Investment Advisory Inc.

Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. decreased its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 43,403 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola makes up approximately 1.7% of Citadel Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Citadel Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Summitry LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 9,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 23,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,448,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 12,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $793,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castleview Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 3,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, SVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.66, for a total transaction of $3,133,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,984,378.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.66, for a total transaction of $3,133,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,984,378.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 21,074 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.90, for a total transaction of $1,283,406.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,118,124. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 227,364 shares of company stock valued at $14,122,016. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $77.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.33.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Coca-Cola stock traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $57.94. The company had a trading volume of 55,727,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,157,437. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $54.01 and a 52 week high of $64.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $60.49 and a 200-day moving average of $61.24. The firm has a market cap of $250.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.55.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.06. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.81% and a return on equity of 43.06%. The firm had revenue of $12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 75.72%.

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.