The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc.

Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 154,070 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,770 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola makes up about 1.8% of Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $9,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,503,484,000 after buying an additional 1,950,146 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,501,789,000 after buying an additional 2,464,618 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 103,297.9% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 57,734,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,672,479,000 after buying an additional 57,678,466 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,937,315,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,514,234,000 after buying an additional 2,040,664 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.09.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $3,138,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,602,980. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at $8,602,980. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO stock traded up $1.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $60.17. The company had a trading volume of 21,207,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,594,415. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $259.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $51.55 and a one year high of $64.99. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.58.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.23%.

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.