Twin Capital Management Inc. Trims Position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Twin Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,366 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,619 shares during the quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on KO shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a 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 $67.18.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.3 %

KO traded up $0.19 during trading on Thursday, reaching $58.70. The stock had a trading volume of 4,925,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,695,520. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $59.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $253.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 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.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.23%.

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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at $8,602,980. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,602,980. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.