Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Sells 1,982 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 27.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,218 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,982 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KO. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Avion Wealth grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 64.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 819 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of KO traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $61.55. The stock had a trading volume of 19,515,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,970,071. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $64.69. The firm has a market cap of $265.35 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $59.98 and its 200 day moving average is $58.72.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.09.

About Coca-Cola

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.