The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,845,080 shares of the company’s stock after selling 408,827 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.14% of Coca-Cola worth $344,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. KRS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 8,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $3,138,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at $8,602,980. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $3,138,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Insiders sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $60.55. The stock had a trading volume of 15,620,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,901,615. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.67. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $51.55 and a one year high of $64.99. The firm has a market cap of $261.04 billion, a PE ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

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.