Quadrant Capital Group LLC Sells 2,807 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Quadrant Capital Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,641 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,807 shares during the quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $3,402,151,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after buying an additional 6,118,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 18,313,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,130,138,000 after acquiring an additional 550,582 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $69.87 on Friday. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $300.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $68.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.42.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. 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.