The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Stake Decreased by Focused Investors LLC

Focused Investors LLC trimmed its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,006,150 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,800 shares during the quarter. Coca-Cola comprises 2.2% of Focused Investors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Focused Investors LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $72,302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.36.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 1.3 %

KO opened at $61.74 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $56.70 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The firm has a market cap of $265.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.51, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This represents a 18.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. This trade represents a 7.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 303,748 shares of company stock worth $20,677,431 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.