Bessemer Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,784,711 shares of the company’s stock after selling 73,584 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $111,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its position in Coca-Cola by 25.0% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 17,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Executive Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth $478,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in Coca-Cola by 2.0% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 10,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $742,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, TCW Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 147.5% in the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 142,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,271,000 after buying an additional 85,189 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KO. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.9 %

KO opened at $69.75 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $69.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.36. The company has a market cap of $300.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year 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.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.